A 

0 
0 
1 

0 
4 
5 

9 
6 
3 

4 

- — ^^i 

Fosdick 


Grime  in  America  and  the 
Police 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Estate  of 
Klara  Sandrich 


Crime   in   America   and 
the  Police 


BY 

RAYMOND  B.  FOSDICK 


NEW  YORK 
^THE  CENTURY  CO. 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/crimeinamericapoOOfosdiala 


Crime  in  America  and 
the  Police 


BY 

RAYMOND   B.   FOSDICK 


NEW  YORK 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 


Cop3Tight,  1920,  by 
THE  CENTURY  CO. 


The  material  in  this  pamphlet  consti- 
tutes the  first  chapter  of  Mr,  Fosdick's 

new    book,     AMERICAN     POLICE     SYSTEMS. 

It  is  presented  in  this  compact  form  be- 
cause of  the  large  demand  for  the  special 
information  on  crime  conditions  which 
that  particular  chapter  contains. 


890223 


AMERICAN  POLICE  SYSTEMS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   AMERICAN    PROBLEM 

Contrast  between  European  and  American  police. —  American  po- 
lice problem  far  more  difficult. —  Heterogeneity  of  America's  popu- 
lation.—  Preponderance  of  crime  in  America. —  Comparative  statis- 
tics :  murder,  burglary,  robbery. —  Relation  of  heterogeneity  to 
crime. —  The  relation  of  court  procedure  to  the  police  problem. — 
The  law's  delays. —  The  technicalities  of  procedure. —  Faulty  per- 
sonnel on  the  bench. —  The  sentimental  attitude  of  the  public. — 
Relation  of  unenforceable  laws  to  American  police  problem. — 
Sumptuary  laws. —  Borderland  between  live  and  dead  law. —  Em- 
barrassment of  the  police. 

To  the  American  student  of  European  municipal  po- 
lice bodies  the  contrast  with  similar  institutions  in  the 
United  States  furnishes  slight  basis  for  pride.  The  ef- 
ficiency of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force  of  London,  the 
operation  of  the  detective  bureau  of  Paris,  the  work  of 
the  Carabinieri  in  Rome  and  of  the  Politi  in  Copenhagen 
have  little  comparable  to  them  in  America ;  while  even  as 
regards  the  police  of  smaller  cities  like  Zurich,  Edin- 
burgh or  The  Hague,  an  American  looks  almost  in  vain 
for  equal  effectiveness  at  home.  This  is  so  well  recog- 
nized, indeed,  and  we  have  become  so  accustomed  to 
think  of  our  police  work  as  perhaps  the  most  pronounced 
failure  in  all  our  unhappy  municipal  history,  that  we  are 

3 


American  Police  Systems 

T  inclined  to  accept  the  phenomenon  without  analysis  and 
';  charge  it  up  generally  to  "  politics."  That  politics  lies  at 
!i  the  root  of  much  of  it  cannot  of  course  be  denied.  No 
one  can  trace  the  development  of  police  organization  in 
the  United  States,  as  we  shall  follow  it  in  Chapter  II, 
without  realizing  how  true  the  generalization  is;  but  to 
ij  believe  that  the  unfavorable  comparison  between  Euro- 
•  pean  and  American  police  systems  is  chargeable  solely  to 
f  politics  or  to  the  personnel  of  our  forces  is  to  overlook 
(  certain  fundamental  divergencies  in  national  conditions, 
customs  and  psychology  which  pile  up  obstacles  in  the 
,  way  of  efficient  police  work  in  America  almost  beyond 
^  the  conception  of  the  average  European  official. 

In  a  word,  the  police  of  an  American  city  are  faced 
with  a  task  such  as  European  police  organizations  have 
no  knowledge  of.  The  Metropolitan  Police  Force  of 
London  with  all  its  splendid  efficiency  would  be  over- 
whelmed in  New  York,  and  the  Brigade  de  surete  of 
Paris,  with  its  ingenuity  and  mechanical  equipment,  would 
fall  far  below  the  level  of  its  present  achievement  if  it 
were  confronted  with  the  situation  in  Chicago.  It  is  to 
the  discussion  of  some  of  these  external  factors  which 
complicate  police  function  in  America  that  the  present 
chapter  is  devoted. 

I,       HETEROGENEITY   OF    POPULATION 

With  rare  exceptions,  the  populations  of  European 
cities  are  homogeneous.  The  population  of  American 
cities  is  heterogeneous  to  an  extent  almost  without  paral- 
lel.    Only  3%  of  London's  population  is  foreign-born.* 

1  C«n5us   of    191 1,    Vol.   9.    Wherever   in   this   book   London    is 

4 


The  American  Problem 

Paris  has  6%,^  Berlin  2.9%,^  Vienna  approximately  one 
per  cent.*  In  America  —  to  use  only  a  few  illustra- 
tions at  random  —  New  York's  foreign-born  population 
is  41%,  Chicago  and  Boston  36%  each,  Cleveland  and 
Providence  34%  each,  Detroit  33%.  Where  London  has 
211,000  foreign-bom,  Paris  170,000,  and  Berlin  60,000, 
New  York  has  1,944,357,  of  which  1,563,964  are  of  non- 
English  speaking  peoples,  while  Chicago  has  783,428,  of 
which  653,377  are  from  non-English  speaking  countries.* 
This  contrast  can  be  emphasized  in  another  way. 
London  has  14,000  Italians  among  her  foreign-born; 
Paris  has  26,000.  New  York  has  340,000;  Chicago  has 
4S,ooo.  London  has  45,000  foreign-born  Russians; 
Paris  18,000.  New  York  has  485,000;  Chicago  121,000. 
Where  Paris  has  7,000  Austro-Hungarians,  New  York 
has  267,000.  Where  London  has  27,000  Poles,  Chicago 
has  126,000.  London's  42,000  foreign-born  Germans 
must  be  contrasted  with  New  York's  280,000  and  with 
Chicago's  185,000.  New  York's  Italian-born  population 
is  greater  than  the  combined  populations  of  Bologne  and 
Venice.  She  has  more  German-born  residents  than  has 
Bremen,  Konigsberg,  Aix  la  Chapelle,  Posen,  Kiel  or 
Danzig.  Only  three  cities  of  old  Austria-Hungary  — 
Vienna,  Budapest  and  Prague  —  have  a  larger  Austro- 
Hungarian  population  than  New  York,  while  in  Chicago 

mentioned,  the  reference  is  to  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  which 
covers  an  area  of  699  square  miles  and  includes  a  population  of 
7,231,701. 

^  Annuaire  statistique  de  la  Ville  de  Paris,  1912. 

2  Statistische  Jahrbuch  der  Stadt  Berlin,  1913,  pp.  40-41. 

3  That  is,  born  outside  the  limits  of  the  old  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire.  Meyer's  Konversationslexikon,  Vol.  20,  annual  supplement 
1910-11. 

*  Federal  Census  of  1910. 

5 


American  Police  Systems 

the  foreign-bom  Austro-Hungarians  outnumber  the  pop- 
ulation of  Brunn,  Cracow  or  Gratz.  In  only  five  Russian 
cities  —  Petrograd,  Moscow,  Odessa,  Warsaw  and  Kiev 
—  can  a  Russian  population  be  found  greater  than  that 
of  New  York. 

But  this  is  not  the  whole  contrast.  The  forebears  of 
London's  present  population  for  generations  back  were 
Englishmen,  bred  to  English  customs  and  traditions,  just 
as  the  forefathers  of  modern  Parisians  were  Frenchmen, 
born  to  French  institutions  and  ideals.  In  New  York, 
Chicago  and  other  large  cities  of  the  United  States  there 
are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  residents  whose  mothers 
or  fathers  or  both  were  born  abroad.  If  we  add  this 
class  to  the  foreign-born  population,  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking,  to  form  what  may  be  called  the  foreign- 
stock  element,  we  find  that  it  comprises  80%  of  New 
York's  population,  and  that  of  the  total  number,  amount- 
ing to  3,769,803,  nearly  three-fourths  came  of  non-Eng- 
lish speaking  people.^  Similarly,  this  foreign-stock  ele- 
ment constitutes  the  majority  of  the  population  in  the 
nineteen  largest  cities  of  the  United  States.  In  other 
words,  the  native  white  population  of  native  parentage 
amounts  to  less  than  one-fifth  the  total  population  of 
New  York  and  less  than  one-fourth  of  the  populations 
of  Chicago,  Boston,  Cleveland,  Detroit  and  Milwaukee; 
while  in  cities  like  Fall  River,  Massachusetts,  it  consti- 
tutes little  more  than  10%.  In  only  fourteen  of  the 
fifty  largest  cities  of  America  does  the  native  parentage 
population  equal  fifty  per  cent  of  the  total. 

^  Ibid.  Conjfestion  adds  to  the  difficulties  of  heteroRcneity.  Lon- 
don in  1911  had  only  180,000  people  housed  219  to  the  acre;  New 
York  in  1910  had  1,171,000  people  so  housed. 

6 


'  The  American  Problem 

Again,  the  contrast  can  be  emphasized  in  terms  not 
only  of  race  but  of  color.  In  London  and  other  cities  of 
Great  Britain  the  negro  population  is  so  negligible  that 
the  census  statistics  make  no  mention  of  it.  Only  rarely 
does  one  see  negroes  on  the  streets  and  a  "  color  prob- 
lem "  does  not  exist.  In  America,  in  consequence  of  the 
great  numbers  of  negro  inhabitants,  this  problem  has 
assumed  startling  proportions.  Its  extent  can  be  judged 
from  the  following  figures :  ^ 

Nearo  Percentage  of 

City                  i.   u   1  .'  negroes  to  total 

■^                  population  A   ^   ;  i- 

^  '^  population 

Atlanta  51.902  33.5 

Baltimore 84,749  15.2 

Birmingham  52,305  394 

Charleston  (S.  C.)    31,056  52.8 

IndianapoHs 1 21,816  9.3 

Kansas  City 23,566  9.5 

Louisville   40,522  18.  i 

Memphis 52,441  40.0 

Nashville    36,523  33-i 

New  Orleans 89,262  26.3 

Richmond 46,733  36.6 

Savannah   33,246  51.1 

Washington   94,446  28.5 

The  consequences  of  this  mixture  of  race  and  color  are 
far  reaching,  particularly  in  their  effect  on  such  functions 
as  policing.  Homogeneity  simplifies  the  task  of  govern- 
ment. Long-established  traditions  of  order  and  stand- 
ards of  public  conduct,  well-understood  customs  and  prac- 

1  Census  of  1910. 

7 


American  Police  Systems 

tices  which  smooth  the  rough  edges  of  personal  contact, 
a  definite  racial  temperament  and  a  fixed  set  of  group- 
habits  by  which  conflicting  interests  are  more  readily 
comprehended  and  adjusted  —  in  short,  the  social  soli- 
darity and  cohesiveness  which  come  only  from  a  common 
language  and  a  common  heritage  —  all  these  factors,  so 
interwoven  in  French  and  English  community  life,  and 
so  essential  in  facilitating  the  maintenance  of  law,  are 
utterly  unknown  in  many  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the 
United  States.  Our  larger  cities,  indeed,  are  often  di- 
vided by  more  or  less  well  defined  lines  into  nationalistic 
sections :  Italians,  Chinese,  Poles,  Russians,  Czechs,  Slavs, 
each  with  their  own  districts,  where  they  settle  in  colony 
fashion.  Here,  frequently  in  comparative  isolation,  they 
speak  their  own  language,  read  their  own  newspapers, 
maintain  their  own  churches  and  their  peculiar  social  life. 
Occasionally  the  so-called  foreign-section  of  a  city  com- 
prises within  a  narrow  area  a  heterogeneous  mixture  of 
races.  In  a  single  ward  in  St.  Louis  —  to  use  an  illus- 
tration that  could  be  duplicated  many  times  —  are  900 
Austro-Hungarians,  830  Irish,  2301  Germans,  2527  Ital- 
ians, 7534  Russians  and  493  Roumanians  —  all  of  them 
foreign-born  —  in  addition  to  14,067  native  residents  of 
foreign  parentage  and  1602  negroes.^  The  official  cen- 
sus proclamation  of  1920  in  New  York  City  was  printed 
in  22  languages. 

It  is  this  complex  problem  of  nationality  that  the  police 
are  called  upon  to  grapple  with.     They  must  enforce  the 
same  laws  among  a  score  of  races  and  maintain  a  stand- 
ard of  conduct  in  a  population  coming  from  radically  dif- 
1  Personally  communicated. 

s 


The  Ameriean  Problem 

ferent  environments.  They  must  be  prepared  to  under- 
stand the  criminal  propensities  of  Sicilians  and  Poles,  of 
Chinese  and  Russians.  They  must  become  expert  in  de- 
tecting crime  characteristics  as  shown  by  twenty  races. 
They  must  deal  with  people  who  have  no  knowledge  of 
public  health  regulations  or  safety  ordinances  or  of  those 
sanitary  laws  which  distinguish  the  modern  city  from  the 
medieval  town.  They  must  have  a  ready  knowledge  of 
national  customs  and  habits  so  as  to  be  forearmed  against 
an  Italian  festival,  a  Polish  wedding  or  a  Russian  holi- 
day. They  must  constantly  realize  that  the  juxtaposition 
of  separate  racial  groups  is  a  factor  of  potential  disorder. 
To  see  the  London  "  Bobby  "  at  work,  dealing  with 
people  of  his  own  race  who  understand  him  and  whom  he 
understands,  is  to  learn  a  larger  sympathy  for  his  brother 
officer  who  walks  the  beat  in  New  York,  Chicago  or  San 
Francisco. 

ir.      PREPONDERANCE   OF   CRIME   IN   AMERICA 

The  task  of  the  police  is  further  handicapped  in  the 
United  States,  as  compared  generally  with  Europe,  by  the 
greater  volume  of  crime  committed  here.  Police  statis- 
tics show  that  crime  is  far  more  prevalent  in  American 
cities  than  in  the  cities  of  England,  France  or  Germany.^ 
The  point  will  undoubtedly  be  made  that  inasmuch  as  the 
prime  duty  of  the  police  is  the  prevention  of  crime,  this 
unhappy  condition  is  the  result  of  our  police  ineffective- 
ness rather  than  one  of  the  ca^ises  of  it.     In  part  this 

1  German  criminal  statistics  after  1914  are  not  available,  and 
French  statistics  since  that  date  are  imsatisfactory  for  the  use  of  the 
careful  student.  The  English  statistics  maintain  their  standard  of 
excellence  and  completeness  in  spite  of  the  war. 

9 


American  Police  Systems 

point  is  well  taken,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  assess- 
ing responsibility  for  the  condition  which  we  shall  shortly 
describe,  we  are  in  a  borderland  where  exact  analysis  is 
impossible.  At  the  same  time'  the  large  preponderance 
in  America  of  certain  types  of  crime  which  are,  generally 
speaking,  unaffected  by  police  activity  —  such  as  pre- 
meditated murder  and  many  kinds  of  commercial  frauds 
—  affords  a  basis  for  the  belief  that  our  greater  compara- 
tive propensity  to  crime  is  to  a  certain  degree  due  to  the 
make-up  of  our  population,  quite  apart  from  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  our  police  forces.  To  that  extent,  therefore, 
this  condition  may  be  placed  in  the  list  of  those  external 
factors  which  complicate  our  police  problem. 

Comparative  Statistics  —  Murder. 

As  to  the  fact  of  our  excessive  criminality,  the  statis- 
tics furnish  startling  evidence.  London  in  1916,  with  a 
population  of  seven  millions  and  a  quarter,  had  nine  pre- 
meditated murders.  Chicago,  one-third  the  size  of  Lon- 
don, in  the  same  period  had  105,  nearly  twelve  times 
London's  total. ^  In  the  year  1916,  indeed  —  and  it  was 
not  an  exceptional  year  —  Chicago  with  its  2,500,000 
people  had  twenty  more  murders  than  the  whole  of  Eng- 
land and  Wales  put  together  with  their  38,000,000  peo- 
ple.^    The  Chicago  murders  during  this  year  total  one 

^  These  figures,  in  both  instances,  do  not  inchide  abortion  cases. 
I  am  indebted  for  my  Chicago  figures  to  the  Bureau  of  Records  of 
the  Chicago  police  department  which  prepares  perhaps  the  best 
analysis  of  homicidal  deaths  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  United 
States.  The  London  figures  are  from  the  annual  reports  of  the 
Commissioner  of  the  Aletropolitan  Police.  It  must  be  emphasized 
that  these  statistics  in  lx)th  instances  are  based  not  on  judicial  de- 
terminations, but  on  a  police  analysis  of  crime  complaints. 

2  Figures  obtained    from    the  Judicial  Statistics  of  England  and 

10 


The  American  Problem 

more  than  London  had  during  the  five  year  period  from 
1 910  to  1 91 4  inclusive.  In  191 7  Chicago  had  ten  more 
murders  than  the  whole  of  England  and  Wales  and  four 
more  murders  than  all  England,  Wales  and  Scotland.^ 
In  19 1 8  Chicago  had  fourteen  more  murders  than  Eng- 
land and  Wales.  In  191 9  the  number  of  murders  in 
Chicago  was  almost  exactly  six  times  the  number  com- 
mitted in  London.  A  tabulation  of  some  of  these  statis- 
tics follows :  ^ 

Murders 

ipi4  1^15  19 16  igiy     IQ18 

England  and  Wales 92  81  85  81         81 

Scotland  8  12  9  6         * 

London 16  21  '        9  16         26 

Liverpool 5  4  4  4            5 

Chicago 87  77  105  91          95 

*  Figures  not  available. 

But  Chicago  is  not  exceptional.  Other  American 
cities  suffer  equally  from  comparison  with  crime  condi- 
tions abroad.     New  York  City  in  1916  had  exactly  six 

Wales  —  Criminal  Section  (Table  on  police  returns).  These  statis- 
tics are  published  annually  by  the  Home  Office.  The  figures  quoted 
above  —  indeed  the  crime  figures  quoted  in  this  entire  section  of  the 
chapter  —  do  not  represent  judicial  findings  —  that  is,  they  are  not 
based  on  the  results  of  trials.  They  are  complaints  of  crime,  or,  as 
they  are  called  in  England,  crimes  known  to  the  police,  regardless 
of  arrests,  convictions,  or  the  particular  degrees  of  crime  for  which 
prisoners  are  sentenced.  Thus  the  police  in  a  given  community 
might  know  that  100  burglaries  had  been  committed  in  the  course  of 
a  year.  Perhaps  50  arrests  are  made  and  40  convictions  secured  in 
varying  degrees  of  burglary  and  housebreaking.  The  index  of  crime 
in  that  community  is  not  found  in  the  arrests  or  the  convictions,  but 
in  the  100  burglaries  known  to  the  police  to  have  been  committed. 

^  Figures  obtained  from  the  Judicial  Statistics  of  Scotland,  pub- 
lished annually  by  the  Scottish  Office. 

2  Exclusive  of  abortion  cases  and  infanticides. 

II 


American  Police  Systems 

times  the  number  of  homicides  (murder  and  man- 
slaughter) that  London  had  for  the  same  year,  and  only 
ten  less  homicides  than  all  of  England  and  Wales.     In 

19 1 7  New  York  had  six  times  more  homicides  than  Lon- 
don, and  exceeded  the  total  homicides  of  England  and 
Wales  by  56.  In  191 8  New  York  again  had  six  times 
more  homicides  than  London,  and  exceeded  the  total 
homicides  of  England  and  Wales  by  67.^  This  contrast 
cannot  be  attributed  to  the  peculiar  conditions  in  London 
induced  by  the  war.     In  each  of  the  years  from  19 14  to 

1918  inclusive  New  York  had  more  homicides  than  oc- 
curred in  London  during  any  three  year  period  previous 
to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1914.^  A  tabulation  of 
homicide  statistics  follows: 

1  The  New  York  figures  are  taken  from  the  annual  reports  of  the 
New  York  police  department.  The  homicide  figures  in  all  instances 
are  exclusive  of  abortion  cases  and  vehicular  accident  and  other 
criminal  negligence  cases.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to  verify  the 
accuracy  of  these  statistics  and  careful  studies  have  been  undertaken 
in  New  York,  Chicago  and  London  (at  Scotland  Yard)  to  test  their 
comparability. 

2  At  the  same  time  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  war  had  some 
effect  upon  criminal  statistics  in  England,  although  the  reduction 
in  homicides  is  not  as  marked  as  might  be  expected.  The  following 
taible  shows  murders  and  manslaughters  in  London  during  the  ten 
years  preceding  the  war: 


Total  homicides 

Year 

Murder 

Manslaughter 

(murder  and 
manslaughter) 

1904 

19 

30 

49 

1905 

20 

24 

44 

1906 

16 

20 

36 

1907 

12 

35 

47 

1908 

18 

35 

53 

1909 

18 

24 

42 

1910 

21 

22 

43 

191 1 

21 

31 

52 

1912 

24 

40 

64 

1913 

22 

38 

60 

These  figures,  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  London  police,  are 

12 


The  American  Problem 

Homicide  (murder  and 

manslaughter)^ 

1914  1915  1916  1917  1918 

England  and  Wales  220  226  196  180  154 

Scotland    39  57  53  29  * 

London 46  45  31  39  37 

Liverpool    8  8  8  9  5 

Glasgow    II  23  18  II  9 

New  York  244  234  186  236  221 

Chicago     216  198  255  253  222 

Detroit    *  *  62  94  42 

Washington,  D.  C 26  25  24  24  27 

*  Figures  not  available. 

Statistics  of  this  kind  could  be  multiplied  at  length.  In 
the  three  year  period  191 6-19 18  inclusive,  Glasgow  had 
38  homicides ;  Philadelphia,  which  is  only  a  trifle  larger, 
had  during  this  same  period  281.^  Liverpool  and  St. 
Louis  are  approximately  the  same  size;  in  191 5  St.  Louis 
had  eleven  times  the  number  of  homicides  that  Liverpool 
had,  and  in  1916  eight  times  the  number.^  Los  Angeles, 
one-twentieth  the  size  of  London,  had  two  more  homi- 
cides in  19 16  than  London  had  for  the  same  period;  in 
19 1 7  she  had  ten  more  than  London  had.  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  one-tenth  the  size  of  London,  had  more  than  three 

exclusive  of  abortions,  infanticides,  justifiable  homicides  and  all  ve- 
hicular accident  and  criminal  negligence  cases. 

1  Exclusive  of  abortions,  infanticides  and  vehicular  accident  and 
other  criminal  negligence  cases.  New  York  and  Chicago  figures  are 
based  upon  police  reports,  except  the  1915  New  York  figure,  which 
is  based  on  a  personal  examination  of  the  records.  This  examina- 
tion showed  twelve  more  homicides  than  were  indicated  in  the  an- 
nual report. 

2  Philadelphia  statistics  from  annual  reports,  Bureau  o.f  Police. 

2  The  St.  Louis  statistics  were  obtained  from  the  police  depart- 
ment records. 

13 


American  Police  Systems 

times  the  number  of  homicides  in  19 17  and  approximately 
twice  the  numl)er  in  1918.^ 

The  chief  constable  for  Edinburgh  in  his  annual  re- 
port for  191 5  wrote  as  follows:  "  I  regret  to  state  that 
while  crimes  against  the  person  have  considerably  de- 
creased, a  number  of  serious  crimes  under  the  heading  of 
homicide  were  reported  during  the  year  —  namely,  one 
murder,  one  attempted  murder,  and  five  cases  of  culpable 
homicide."  -  The  one  murder  was  an  abortion  case;  two 
of  the  culpable  homicides  were  cases  in  which  infants  had 
died  from  neglect;  a  third  was  a  vehicular  accident  case; 
and  two  others,  "  after  full  investigation  by  the  Crown 
Authorities  were  not  proceeded  with.''  ^  Edinburgh  is  a 
city  in  excess  of  300,000  population.  Surely  a  chief  of 
police  in  an  American  city  of  equal  size  would  have  rea- 
sons for  pride  rather  than  regret  if  he  could  point  to 
such  a  record. 

We  have  already  noted  that  as  a  result  of  the  war  re- 
liable crime  statistics  are  not  available  in  Continental  Eu- 
rope. It  is  pertinent  to  note,  however,  that  for  a  long- 
time before  the  war  Berlin  had  an  average  of  25  mur- 
ders a  year,  and  Vienna  an  average  of  nineteen.^ 

^  Statistics  obtained  from  police  records. 

2  Report  on  Crime  and  the  Police  Establishment,  1913,  p.  6. 

•■*  Ibid.  In  his  report  for  1918  the  chief  constable  of  Edinburgh 
says :  "  The  only  crime  of  a  serious  nature  recorded  during  the 
year  was  that  of  a  young  unmarried  woman  charged  with  culpable 
homicide."  This  was  an  infanticide  case  (p.  8).  In  his  report  for 
1919  this  same  official  said :  "  I  regret  to  state  that  while  crime 
has  slightly  decreased  during  the  year,  crimes  against  the  person 
have  considerably  increased.  .  .  .  Two  cases  of  murder  and  one  case 
of  culpable  homicide  were  reported  to  the  police  during  the  year." 
These  cases  included  one  abortion  and  one  vehicular  accident  case, 
(p.  8.) 

♦These  figures  I  verified  in  1914  at  police  headquarters  in  Alex- 
anderplats,  Berlin,  and  at  the  Agentenreferat  in  Vienna. 

14 


The  American  Problem 

Comparative  Statistics  —  Burglary. 

Equally  significant  is  the  comparison  of  burglary  sta- 
tistics between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  In 
191 5,  for  example,  New  York  City  had  approximately 
eight  times  as  many  burglaries  as  London  had  in  the  same 
period,  and  nearly  twice  the  number  of  burglaries  re- 
ported in  all  England  and  Wales.  ^  In  191 7  New  York 
had  four  times  as  many  burglaries  as  London,  and  ap- 
proximately the  same  number  as  occurred  in  England 
and  Wales.  In  19 18  the  burglaries  which  the  police  re- 
ported in  New  York  were  approximately  two  and  a  half 
times  those  in  London.^  While  war  conditions  un- 
doubtedly served  to  heighten  this  contrast,  they  were  by 
no  means  entirely  responsible  for  it;  in  1915  New  York 
City  had  more  burglaries  than  occurred  in  all  England 
and  Wales  in  191 1,  1912,  or  1913.^  Chicago  in  1916 
had  532  more  burglaries  than  London,  in  19 17,  3459 
more,  in  1918,  866  more,  and  in  1919,  2146  more.  De- 
troit  and    Cleveland   generally    report    several   hundred 

1  In  New  York  there  were  11,652  burglaries  in  1915;  in  London 
1,459;  in  England  and  Wales  6,737.  In  order  to  establish  a  com- 
parison I  have  grouped  within  the  classification  "  burglary  "  several 
crimes  which  in  England  are  listed  under  such  titles  as  housebreak- 
ing, shop-^breaking,  sacrilege,  etc.  The  crime  burglary  as  used  in 
the  above  comparison  includes  housebreaking  by  day  or  night. 

2  It  seems  probable  that  these  New  York  figures  for  19 18  represent 
an  under-statement  of  the  actual  number  of  burglaries. 

^  The  burglaries  occurring  in  London  and  in  England  and  Wales 
from  1910-1915  inclusive  are  as  follows : 

Year  1  London  England  and  Wales 

1910   3,057  12,215 

1911    3,048  11,045 

1912   2,974  11,112 

1913  2,911  11,166 

1914   ■■ 2-352  9,844 

1915   1,459  6,737 

15 


American  Police  Systems 

more  burglaries  per  annum  than  London,  although  Lon- 
don is  seven  or  eight  times  larger.  In  each  of  these  two 
cities  in  1917  and  1918  the  number  of  burglaries  aver- 
aged one-fourth  the  number  committed  in  all  England 
and  Wales.  The  annual  burglaries  in  St.  Louis  always 
exceed  those  in  London. 

A  table  of  burglaries  follows : 

Burglary,  including  housebreaking  by  day 
or  night,  shop-breaking,  sacrilege,  etc} 
1916  1917  1918 

England  and  Wales. . .  7,809  9,453  10,331 

Scotland 3,977  5.073  * 

London    1,581  2,164  ^,777 

Liverpool 1,135  1,361  1,136 

New  York *  9,45o  7.412 

Chicago   2,113  5.623  3,643 

Detroit  2,736  3,o8o  2,047 

Cleveland *  2,752  2,608 

St.  Louis 3,212  2,483  2,989 

*  Figures  not  available. 

The  disproportionate  number  of  burglaries  occurring 
in  American  cities  as  compared  with  English  cities  is  re- 
flected in  the  prevailing  burglary  insurance  rates  of  the 
two  countries.     Due  to  differences  in  insurance  practices 

1  The  American  figures  in  this  table  are  taken  from  police  depart- 
ment records.  Their  accuracy  cannot  be  vouched  for,  because  in 
many  of  our  departments,  complaints  of  crime  are  deliberately  and 
systematically  concealed.  It  can  safely  be  assumed,  however,  that 
these  figures  represent  an  under-statement  rather  than  an  over- 
statement. The  English  statistics,  on  the  other  hand,  are  kept  with 
meticulous  care,  and  after  a  careful  study  of  the  records  and  meth- 
ods at  Scotland  Yard  and  elsewhere  in  Great  Britain,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  complaints  of  crime  are  ever  concealed  to  avoid  unfavor- 
able appearances. 

16 


The  American  Problem 

and  methods,  exact  comparisons  are  impossible,  but 
enough  has  been  gathered  from  careful  investigation  to 
warrant  the  general  conclusion  that  burglary  rates  in 
American  municipalities  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty  times 
higher  than  in  the  principal  cities  of  England.^ 

Comparative  Statistics  —  Robbery. 

Even  more  startling  are  the  statistics  of  robbery.^ 
New  York  City  in  1915  reported  838  robberies  and  as- 
saults with  intent  to  rob  where  London  had  20,  and  Eng- 
land, Wales  and  Scotland  together  had  102.  In  19 16 
New  York  had  886  such  crimes  to  London's  nineteen,  and 
England,  Wales  and  Scotland's  227.  In  191 7  New  York 
reported  864  to  London's  38,  while  England,  Wales 
and  Scotland  reported  233.  In  1918  New  York  had 
849,  while  London  had  63  and  England  and  Wales  had 
100.  This  contrast  is  by  no  means  ascribable  to  war 
conditions,  although  such  conditions  undoubtedly  height- 
ened it.  In  each  of  the  four  years  from  1915  to  1918 
inclusive,  New  York  City  had  from,  four  to  five  times 
more  robberies  than  occurred  in  all  England  and  Wales  in 
any  one  of  the  five  years  preceding  the  war. 

1  This  statement  is  based  on  quite  a  detailed  study  of  burglary 
insurance  in  London  and  New  York  and  I  am  indebted  to  various 
insurance  company  representatives  in  both  cities  for  their  courtesy 
and  assistance.  An  interesting  comparison  in  burglary  insurance 
rates  for  private  residences  is  possible  between  different  American 
cities.  The  rates  prevailing  in  June,  1920,  for  seven  municipalities 
are  as  follows:  Chicago  and  San  Francisco,  $19.80  per  thousand; 
New  York,  St.  Louis  and  Detroit,  $16.50  per  thousand;  Atlanta, 
$13-75  per  thousand;  Boston,  $11.00  per  thousand. 

2  The  astonishing  discrepancy  in  these  statistics  led  to  a  careful 
investigation.  The  legal  definitions  of  robbery  are  practically  identi- 
cal on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  fact  remains  that  highway 
robberies  or  "  hold-ups "  do  not  occur  in  Great  Britain  with  any- 
thing like  the  frequency  they  do  in  America. 

17 


American  Police  Systems 

Practically  the  same  proportion  exists  between  Chi- 
cago's robberies  and  those  in  Great  Britain.  In  1918,  for 
example,  Chicago  had  22  robberies  for  every  one  robbery 
in  London  and  14  robberies  for  every  one  robbery  in 
England  and  Wales.  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1916  had 
four  times  the  number  of  robberies  that  London  reported ; 
in  191 7  three  times  the  number;  and  in  1918  one  and  one- 
half  times  the  number.  Los  Angeles  in  1916  had  64 
more  robberies  than  all  of  England,  Wales  and  Scot- 
land put  together;  in  191 7  she  had  126  more  than  these 
three  countries.  Cities  like  St.  Louis  and  Detroit,  in 
their  statistics  of  robbery  and  assault  with  intent  to  rob, 
frequently  show  annual  totals  varying  from  three  times 
to  five  times  greater  than  the  number  of  such  crimes  re- 
ported for  the  whole  of  Great  Britain.  Liverpool  is 
about  one  and  a  third  times  larger  than  Cleveland,  and 
yet  in  19 19  Cleveland  reported  31  robberies  for  every 
one  reported  in  Liverpool. 

Comparative  Statistics  —  Miscellaneous. 

Differences  in  definition  and  classification  of  crime  be- 
tween England  and  America  make  it  difficult  to  push  the 
comparison  much  further.  One  or  two  illustrations, 
however,  may  be  noted  to  emphasize  the  contrast  devel- 
oped in  the  foregoing  statistics.  Automobile  thefts  are 
much  more  prevalent  in  America  than  in  Great  Britain, 
as  is  shown  by  the  following  table : 

Thefts  of  automobiles  reported  in  ipip  ^ 

New  York  5527 

Chicago 4316 

1  Figures   in   all   cases   obtained   from   the   police   records.    I   am 

18 


The  American  Problem 

Detroit   3482 

St.  Louis 1244 

Cleveland    2327 

Buffalo   986 

London   290 

Liverpool   10 

Comparative  statistics  as  to  the  number  of  automo- 
biles in  American  and  English  cities  are  impossible  to  ob- 
tain, but  it  is  probably  a  fair  assumption  that  the  pro- 
portionate excess  of  thefts  in  the  United  States  far  ex- 
ceeds the  admittedly  larger  supply  of  machines  in  our 
communities  as  compared  with  the  communities  of  Great 
Britain. 

Similarly  in  comparing  the  total  number  of  arrests  for 
all  crimes  and  offenses  in  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  one  is  struck  by  the  high  figures  in  American 
cities.^  The  number  of  arrests  in  Boston  for  the  year 
191 7  exceeded  the  number  of  arrests  in  London  for  the 
same  year  by  32,520.  Philadelphia's  arrests  for  1917 
exceeded  London's  by  20,005.  Chicago's  arrests  for 
191 7  exceeded  London's  by  61,874.  New  York's  ar- 
rests for  this  same  period  exceeded  London's  by  m,- 
877.     Indeed  New  York  had  almost  two  and  a  half  times 

especially  indebted  to  the  Honorable  Trevor  Bigham,  assistant  com- 
missioner at  Scotland  Yard,  for  his  courtesy  in  aiding  me  to  obtain 
the  London  figures. 

^  Figures  of  arrests  must  always  be  taken  with  some  qualification, 
as  they  are  subject  to  various  interpretations.  They  may  denote 
crime  conditions,  or  excessive  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  police,  or  too 
many  laws  and  regulations  to  be  observed,  or  any  one  of  half  a 
dozen  other  situations.  Because  in  this  case  the  American  arrests 
exceed  the  English  arrests  by  such  large  figures,  I  have  felt  free  to 
use  the  comparison  as  at  least  throwing  some  further  light  on  crimi- 
nality in  the  United  States. 

19 


American  Police  Systems 

as  many  arrests  in  19 17  as  were  made  in  London.  Glas- 
gow with  an  estimated  population  of  a  third  of  a  million 
larger  than  either  St.  Louis  or  Boston,  recorded  in  19 18 
22,290  arrests  and  summonses,  while  St.  Louis  in  the 
same  period  showed  54,400  and  Boston  90,293.  This 
same  disproportion  is  to  be  found  in  cities  of  lesser  size. 

Relation  of  Heterogeneity  to  Crime. 

To  what  extent  the  excessive  volume  of  crime  in  Amer- 
ica is  attributable  to  the  heterogeneity  of  our  population 
cannot  be  precisely  determined.  Even  where  they  exist 
at  all,  our  criminal  statistics  are  so  crude  and  incomplete 
that  deductions  are  difficult  to  make  and  when  made  are 
little  better  than  rough  estimates.  The  number  of  ar- 
rests in  the  course  of  a  year  is  practically  the  only  classi- 
fication available  for  our  purposes,  and  the  fact  that  this 
basis  of  measurement  makes  no  allowance  for  unsolved 
crimes  or  for  cases  subsequently  discharged  in  court, 
shows  its  unsatisfactory  character.  However  as  an  indi- 
cation of  the  causal  connection  between  the  presence  in 
America  of  large  numbers  of  foreign  races,  uprooted  and 
often  adrift,  and  our  overwhelming  preponderance  of 
crime,  the  figures  of  arrest  may  profitably  be  studied. 
They  show,  for  example,  that  Irish-bom  inhabitants  of 
Boston,  constituting  9.8%  of  the  population,  are  charged 
with  15%  of  the  total  arrests.^  In  New  York  City  the 
Russian-bom  inhabitants,  constituting  10.15%  of  the 
population,  are  credited  with  20%  of  the  total  arraign- 
ments before  the  magistrates'  courts,  while  the  Italian- 

^  Calculation  based  on  U.  S.  Census  report  and  Annual  Report  of 
tiie  Police  Department  for  1918. 

20 


The  American  Problem 

bom,  who  equal  7.15%  of  the  population,  have  11.8% 
of  the  arraignments.^  The  total  figure  of  arraignments 
before  the  magistrates'  courts  in  New  York  for  19 17 
can  be  calculated  as  follows : 

Percentage  of  Percentage  of 

r        Nativity                    total  population  total  arraignments 

\  Foreign  bom 40.8%  52.9% 

iNative  born 59.2  47.1 

\     (of     native,     foreign     or 
\    mixed  parentage) 


These  figures,  however,  are  largely  made  up  of  mis- 
demeanors, including  violations  of  sanitary  regulations, 
health  ordinances,  etc.,  which  as  far  as  the  foreigner  is 
concerned  may  be  often  the  result  of  ignorance.  Cer- 
tainly they  do  not  necessarily  imply  criminality.  A  fairer 
judgment  can  be  based  on  cases  of  felony  as  distinguished 
from  misdemeanor.  Arrests  for  felony  in  19 18  in  Chi- 
cago, for  example,  can  be  illustrated  as  follows :  ^ 

Percentage  of  total  Percentage  of  total 

Country  of  Origin  popttlation  felony  arrests 

U.  S.  white 62.1%  55.1% 

U.  S.  colored 2.0  13.2 

Poles  5.8  6.4 

Russia 5.6  5.9 

Italy    2.06  4.3 

Germany 8.3  24 

Lithuania  (including  Letts)         .9  2.3 

Other  nationalities    12.+  10.+ 

1  Calculations  based  on  Annual   Report  of  City  Magistrates  for 
1917. 
*  Compiled  from  annual  police  report  of  Chicago  for  1918. 

21 


American  Police  Systems 

This  can  further  be  ilKistrated  by  figures  showing  the 
respective  percentages  of  felony  arrests  and  misdemeanor 
arrests  in  the  total  arrests  of  each  of  the  above  nationali- 
ties :  * 

Percentage  of        Percentage  of 
felony  misdemeanor 

Nationality  arrests  arrests 

U.  S.  white 9-97%  90.03% 

U.  S.  colored 15.8  84.2 

Poles    11.3  88.7 

Russia 15.97  84.03 

Italy    15.3  84.7- 

Germany 1 1 .5  88.5 

Lithuania    14.6  88.4 

Other  nationalities   8.5  91.5 

The  problem  presented  by  the  colored  race  is  shown 
in  the  following  statistics  of  arrest  from  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  year  1919 :  ^ 

Percentage  of  total  Percentage  of 

population  total  arrests 

White  71.5%  57-57% 

Colored  28.5  42.43 

Another  calculation  follows  showing  the  number  of  ar- 
rests for  serious  offenses  in  the  same  city  for  the  same 
year: * 

1  Ibid. 

2  Compiled  from  annual  report  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  for  1919. 

3  Ibid.  Similar  statistics  are  obtainable  in  other  cities  which  have 
large  colored  populations. 


o^ 


The  American  Problem 

Nature  of  Offense  Number  of  Arrests 

White  Colored 

(  constituting  71.5%  (  constituting  28.5  % 

of  population)  of  population) 

Murder 15  34 

Manslaughter  6  8 

Assault    with    dangerous 

weapon 33  249 

Assault  with  intent  to  kill          6  10 

Housebreaking 139  323 

Robbery   40  283 

An  intensive  study  of  homicide  records  furnishes  simi- 
larly interesting  results.  For  example,  the  general  homi- 
cide return  for  New  York  City  in  191 5,  exclusive  of 
abortions,  vehicular  accidents  and  justifiable  homicides, 
shows  that  240  cases  were  known  to  the  police  in  which  a 
total  of  251  persons  were  killed.^  Of  this  number,  six 
were  infants  below  the  age  of  one  year,  and  one  was  an 
adult  who  was  never  identified.  Distributing  the  re- 
maining 244  decedents  according  to  nativity  we  find  that 
93  were  born  in  the  United  States  of  native  parents,  26 
were  natives  of  the  United  States  with  foreign-born  par- 
ents, and  125  were  foreign-born.  Of  the  240  cases,  ar- 
rests Avere  made  in  161,  and  222  persons  were  charged 
with  homicide.  Of  the  222,  60  were  natives  of  native 
parentage,  65  were  born  in  Italy,  while  twelve  others  were 
native-born  of  Italian  parentage.  The  Russian-born 
numbered  21,  and  the  native-born  of  Irish  parentage  were 
next  in  order  with  a  total  of  nineteen.^ 

^  These   statistics  are  the   result   of  personal   research   at   Police 
Headquarters  in  New  York. 
2  The  complete  list  of  the  nativities  of  the  222  persons  apprehended 

23 


American  Police  Systems 

The  Chicago  Police  Department  reported  yj  cases  of 
premeditated  murder  for  the  year  191 5,  accounting  for 
the  death  of  77  people.  Of  the  59  persons  arrested  on 
the  charges  of  murder  and  accessory  to  murder,  25  were 
native  whites,  nineteen  were  Italians,  ten  were  native 
negroes,  two  were  Poles,  and  three  were  of  other  nation- 
alities,^ 

was  as  follows:  Italy,  65;  United  States,  60;  Russia,  21;  United 
States  (parents  Ireland),  19;  United  States  (parents  Italy),  12; 
Austria,  11;  United  States  (parents  Germany),  8;  Ireland,  7;  Ger- 
many, 4;  United  States  (parents  Austria),  3;  England,  i;  England 
(parents  Russia),  i;  Finland,  i;  Greece,  i ;  Hawaiian  Islands,  i; 
Hungary,  i ;  Scotland,  i ;  Turkey,  i ;  United  States  (parents  Can- 
ada), I ;  United  States  (parents  Russia),  i;  United  States  (parents 
Sweden),  1;  West  Indies,  i. 

It  is  possible  to  push  this  analysis  a  little  further.  We  have  seen 
that  arrests  were  made  in  161  of  the  240  cases  of  homicide  known 
to  the  police.  In  27  cases  the  perpetrators  committed  suicide,  in 
one  case  the  perpetrator  was  killed,  so  that  there  remained  51  cases 
which  were  not  solved  by  the  police  and  in  which  no  arrests  were 
made.  Considerable  importance  attaches  to  these  cases,  as  unsolved 
crimes  are  more  likely  to  be  planned  by  the  wary  and  seasoned 
criminal.  In  homicides,  the  very  fact  that  no  clue  is  left  may  indi- 
cate greater  caution  and  more  carefully  laid  plans.  To  include  in 
the  calculation,  therefore,  only  those  cases  in  which  arrests  have 
been  made,  is  to  eliminate  the  most  dangerous  and  vicious  crimes  and 
criminals.  For  these  reasons  a  careful  examination  was  made  of 
the  Detective  Bureau  records  pertaining  to  the  51  unsolved  murder 
cases,  and  personal  interviews  were  had  with  the  detectives  having 
the  cases  in  charge.  In  many  of  them,  while  the  perpetrator  was 
known  with  reasonable  certainty,  the  evidence  was  not  sufficient  to 
warrant  an  arrest.  On  the  basis  of  this  calculation,  of  the  51  un- 
solved cases,  31  can  with  reasonable  accuracy  be  charged  to  natives 
of  Italy;  4  perpetrators  are  believed  to  be  natives  of  the  United 
States,  one  a  native  of  Irish  parentage,  and  one  an  Austrian.  In  14 
cases  no  clue  whatever  was  established. 

1  A  study  similar  to  that  carried  on  in  New  York  was  made  of 
Chicago's  1915  cases.  As  in  New  York,  it  consisted  of  close  ex- 
amination of  the  Detective  Bureau  records  and  consultation  with 
the  detectives.  The  unsolved  cases  amount  to  30  cases  of  murder 
and  10  cases  of  manslaughter,  and  the  perpetrators  can  with  reason- 
able certainty  be  distributed  among  the  following  nationalities : 
United  States  (white),  6;  United  States  (colored),  6;  United  States 
(parents  Polish),  i;  United  States  (parents  Irish),  i;  Italian,  13; 
roland,  2;  Russia,  2;  Serbian,  i;  Turk,  1;  Chinese,  i;  no  clue,  6. 

24 


The  American  Problem 

In  St.  Louis  during  19 15  there  were  71  cases  of  mur- 
der and  manslaughter^  in  which  there  were  71  dece- 
dents and  72  perpetrators.  The  nativity  of  the  perpe- 
trators in  these  cases  almost  coincided  with  the  nativity 
of  the  decedents.  Of  native  whites  there  were  34  dece- 
dents and  35  perpetrators;  of  the  native  colored  there 
were  twenty  decedents  and  24  perpetrators;  seven  dece- 
dents were  of  Italian  parentage  as  were  six  perpetrators; 
there  were  three  Albanian  decedents  and  two  Albanian 
perpetrators;  seven  decedents  of  other  nationalities,  with 
five  perpetrators  of  other  nationalities.^ 

In  Memphis  in  191 5  there  were  76  cases  of  murder  and 
manslaughter  in  which  78  people  were  killed.  Of  the 
persons  killed,  nineteen  were  white  and  59  were  colored. 
Of  the  jy  alleged  perpetrators,  the  whites  numbered 
seventeen,  the  colored  53,  unknown  four,  patrolmen  in  the 
performance  of  duty,  three.^ 

In  Washington,  D.  C,  in  the  five  years  between  191 5 
and  19 19,  143  homicides  were  committed.  In  all  but  five 
of  these  cases  the  police  succeeded  in  apprehending  the 
persons  charged  with  the  crime.     Of  the  138  cases  thus 

1  This  figure  does  not  include  abortions,  justifiable  homicides  or 
criminal  carelessness  cases.  Arrests  were  made  in  56  cases,  in  two 
the  perpetrators  committed  suicide  and  thirteen  remained  unsolved 
by  the  police. 

2  These  statistics  were  gathered  by  personal  research.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  in  St.  Louis  in  this  period  (1915)  one  negro  was 
charged  with  murder  or  manslaughter  for  every  1,832  of  the  col- 
ored population,  and  one  white  was  charged  with  the  same  offense 
for  every  13,385  of  the  population. 

3  Arrests  were  made  in  2>7  cases,  15  of  the  perpetrators  being 
white  and  22  being  colored.  Of  the  remaining  36  unsolved  cases, 
two  white  perpetrators  were  known  but  not  apprehended,  29  col- 
ored perpetrators  were  unapprehended,  four  cases  remained  without 
clue,  and  one  perpetrator  committed  suicide.  (Statistics  gathered 
by  personal  research.) 

25 


American  Police  Systems 

cleared  up,  45  were  committed  by  white  persons  and  93 
by  negroes.^  Of  the  45  white  persons,  five  were  for- 
eigners. 

Calculations  such  as  these  furnish  indisputable  evi- 
dence that  America's  crime  rate  is  greatly  augmented  by 
the  presence  of  unassimilated  or  poorly  assimilated  races. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  our  foreign  and 
colored  population  is  the  sole  cause  of  our  excessive  crime 
rate.  If  the  offenses  of  our  foreign  and  colored  races 
were  stricken  from  the  calculation,  our  crime  record  would 
still  greatly  exceed  the  record  of  Western  Europe.     With 

1  The  complete  tabulation  of  these  homicides  is  as  follows : 

19 13  J916  1917  1918  1919  Total 

Total  number  of  homicides ....     25  24  24  26  44  143 

Cleared  up   25  23  24  26  40  138 

Not  cleared  up o  i  o  o  4  5 

Committed  by  whites  13  5  9  4  14  45 

Committed  by  negroes   12  18  15  22  26  93 

The  details  of  the  above  totals  are  as  follows : 

White  men  killed  by  negroes.  .       o  2  3  5  4  14 

Negroes  killed  by  white  men.  .21103  7 
White    men    killed    by    white 

women    o  i  0  o  i  2 

White  women  killed  by  white 

men   4  2  3  3  3  15 

Negro  women  killed  by  negro 

men   6  7  4  4  4  25 

Negro    men    killed    by    negro 

women    o  o  2  o  3  5 

Negro  men  killed  by  negro  men      7  9  6  13  15  50 

White  men  killed  by  white  men      6  i  5  1  7  20 

The  above  figures,  which  were  furnished  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  late  Major  Pullman  of  the  Washington  force,  are  exclusive  of 
abortions,  infanticides,  and  justifiable  homicides.  The  record  made 
by  the  police  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  clearing  up  all  but  five  cases 
out  of  143  is  most  unusual  and  compares  favorably  with  the  best 
records  of  European  police  departments.  As  will  be  noted  by  the 
above  table,  the  Washington  police  department  in  three  different 
twelve-month  periods  scored  a  hundred  per  cent  record  in  their  work. 
In  some  cities  the  record  of  homicide  cases  cleared  up  is  only  thirty 
and  forty  per  cent  of  the  total. 

26 


The  American  Problem 

all  its  kindliness  and  good  nature,  the  temper  of  our 
communities  contains  a  strong  strain  of  violence.  We 
condone  violence  and  shirk  its  punishment.  We  lack  a 
high  instinct  for  order.  We  lack  a  sense  of  the  dignity 
of  obedience  to  restraint  which  is  demanded  for  the  com- 
mon good.  We  lack  a  certain  respect  for  our  own  secur- 
ity and  the  terms  upon  which  civilized  communities  keep 
the  peace. 

"  There  is  probably  more  undisciplined,  egotistic,  mis- 
chievous force  in  the  United  States  than  in  any  country 
of  first  rank  in  the  world.''  ^  This  indictment,  framed 
by  an  indignant  newspaper,  is  scarcely  exaggerated. 
There  is  hardly  a  community  where  its  accuracy  is  not 
vindicated.  It  is  little  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  task 
which  we  have  set  before  our  police  has  all  but  proved 
impossible. 

III.       THE    law's    delays,    THE    COURTS,    AND    THE 
PUBLIC 

The  police  are  but  one  part  of  the  machinery  of  jus- 
tice. Their  function  is  to  maintain  order  and  if  neces- 
sary apprehend  offenders.  With  the  prosecution,  trial 
and  punishment  of  these  offenders,  however,  they  have 
little  to  do.  They  start  the  process  but  they  do  not 
finish  it.  The  prosecuting  attorneys'  offices,  the  courts 
and  the  prisons  take  up  the  thread  of  their  work  where 
the  police  leave  it.  The  operation  of  justice  is  a  single 
operation  working  through  a  number  of  agencies. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  effectiveness  of  the  po- 
lice cannot  be  judged  apart   from  the  effectiveness  of 

1  Chicago  Tribune  (Paris  edition),  January  31,  1919. 

27 


American  Police  Systems 

other  agencies  with  which  they  are  associated  in  working 
for  a  common  end.  If  the  district  attorney's  office  is  lax 
in  its  prosecutions,  if  legal  procedure  makes  for  delay 
and  uncertainty,  if  the  court  is  slothful  or  open  to  un- 
worthy influence  in  its  decisions,  the  ends  of  justice  for 
which  the  police  are  working  are  apt  to  be  defeated.  The 
failure  of  a  single  agency  impairs  the  work  of  all. 

This  is  a  point  which  cannot  be  too  strongly  empha- 
sized. In  the  popular  mind  the  police  are  often  held  re- 
sponsible for  results  over  which  they  have  no  control. 
They  share  the  ignominy  which  belongs  to  other  parts 
of  the  machine,  as  well  as  the  discouragement  of  associa- 
tion with  an  enterprise  which  so  often  fails.  Efficient 
work  on  their  part  in  the  detection  of  a  criminal,  for  ex- 
ample, or  in  the  prevention  of  an  abuse,  stands  an  excel- 
lent chance  of  being  mangled  and  destroyed  in  the  subse- 
quent processes.  Indeed,  without  the  support  of  an  ad- 
ministration of  justice  that  is  prompt  and  certain,  con- 
sistently effective  police  work  is  out  of  the  question. 

It  is,  of  course,  a  notorious  fact  that  such  support  is 
not  given  our  police  forces.  There  is  no  part  of  its  work 
in  which  American  law  fails  so  absolutely  and  so  ludi- 
crously as  in  the  conviction  and  punishment  of  criminals. 
"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say,"  said  President  Taft  in  1909, 
"  that  the  administration  of  criminal  law  in  this  country  is 
a  disgrace  to  our  civilization,  and  that  the  prevalence  of 
crime  and  fraud,  which  here  is  greatly  in  excess  of  that  in 
European  countries,  is  due  largely  to  the  failure  of  the 
law  and  its  administration  to  bring  criminals  to  justice."  ^ 

^  Chicago  Speech,  September,  1909.  Quoted  in  Th^  Reform  of 
Legal  Procedure  by  Moorfield  Storey,  Yale  University  Press,  191 1, 
p.  3. 

28 


The  American  Problem 

The  TechiticaHHes  of  Procedure. 

Space  is  not  available  for  more  than  a  hasty  discussion 
of  this  important  facttor.  In  the  first  place,  our  legal 
procedure  with  its  red  tape  and  technicalities  is  fantas- 
tically employed  to  aid  the  criminal.  When  a  verdict  of 
murder  is  set  aside  because  the  word  "  aforethought "  is 
omitted  after  the  wor-d  "  malice  " ;  ^  when  a  man  con- 
victed of  assault  with  intent  to  kill  is  freed  because  the 
copying  olerk  left  out  the  letter  /  in  the  word  malice;  ^ 
when  an  indictment  for  rape  is  held  defective  because  it 
concluded  "  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  State  "  in- 
stead of  "  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  State  " ;  ^ 
when  another  murderer  is  discharged  because  the  prose- 
cution neglected  to  prove  thkt  the  real  name  of  the  victim 
and  hrs  alias  represented  one  and  the  same  person ;  *  when 
a  horse-thief  is  released  because  the  indictment  ended  in 
the  words  "  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  state  of 
W.  Virginia,"  instead  of  "  against  the  peace  and  dignity 
of  the  state  of  West  Virginia  "  ° —  briefly,  when  in  a  man- 
ner utterly  unknown  in  Europe,  such  absurdities  can  be 
spun  to  defeat  the  ends  of  justice,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  police  are  slack  and  careless.®     The  morale  of  the  best 

1  Etheridge  vs.  State,  141  Ala.  29. 

2  Wood  vs.  State,  50  Ala.  144. 

3  State  vs.  Campbell,  210  Mo.,  202. 
*Goodlove  vs.  State,  82  O.  S.  365. 
6  Lemons  vs.  State,  4  W.  Va.  755. 

•  Although  there  are  a  few  recent  cases,  I  believe  that  the  courts 
as  a  whole  are  less  inclined  than  formerly  to  upset  convictions  be- 
cause of  faulty  indictments.  See  Garland  vs.  Washington,  232  U.  S. 
642  (1914),  overruling  Grain  vs.  U.  S.,  162  U.  S.  625  (1896).  See 
also  V aides  vs.  U.  S.,  244  U.  S.  432.  It  is  noteworthy  too  that  Con- 
gress in  1919  passed  the  following  amendment  to  the  Judicial  Code: 
"  Sec.  269.  All  of  the  said  courts  shall  have  power  to  grant  new 
trials,  in  cases  where  there  has  been  a  trial  by  jury,  for  reasons 

29 


American  Police  Systems 

police  organization  in  the  world  would  soon  be  broken 
down  in  such  an  environment.  "  It 's  small  satisfaction 
to  catch  the  crooks,"  a  chief  of  detectives  told  me,  "  when 
you  know  all  the  time  that  some  sharp  legal  trick  will  be 
used  to  turn  them  free." 

A  member  of  the  Alabama  Bar,  addressing  the  Bar 
Association  of  that  State,  said :  "  I  have  examined 
about  75  murder  cases  that  found  their  way  into  the  re- 
ports of  Alabama.  More  than  half  of  those  cases  were 
reversed  and  not  a  single  one  of  them  on  any  matter  that 
went  to  the  merits  of  the  case;  and  very  few  of  them 
upon  any  matter  that  could  have  influenced  the  jury  in 
reaching  a  verdict."  ^  This  same  story  comes  from  all 
over  the  country. 

Again,  the  special  defenses  which  the  common  law 
throws  about  the  defendant  have  been  so  interpreted  and 
developed  as  to  afiford  the  accused  a  degree  of  protection 
out  of  all  relation  to  modern  conditions.  The  principle 
that  no  person  shall  be  compelled  to  give  evidence  against 

for  which  new  trials  have  usually  been  granted  in  the  courts  of 
law.  On  the  hearing  of  any  appeal,  certiorari,  writ  of  error,  or 
motion  for  a  new  trial,  in  any  case,  civil  or  criminal,  the  court 
shall  give  judgment  after  an  examination  of  the  entire  record  be- 
fore the  court  without  regard  to  technical  errors  or  defects  or  to 
exceptions  which  do  not  affect  the  substantial  rights  of  the  par- 
ties." 

This  reform  has  in  substance  been  adopted  in  the  following  25 
states:  Alabama,  Arizona,  California,  Florida,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Montana, 
Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  Mexico, 
New  York,  Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Pennsylvania,  Texas,  Wisconsin  and 
Wyoming.  (A  summary  of  the  statutes  and  decisions  in  these 
states  is  to  be  found  in  66  U.  of  P.  L.  Rev.  12.  For  further  discus- 
sion see  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
American  Bar  Association  to  Suggest  Remedies  and  Propose  Laws 
Relating  to  Procedure,  dated  June  10,  1919.) 
1  Storey,  loc.  cit.,  p.  231. 

30 


The  American  Problem 

himself,  or  shall  be  placed  twice  in  jeopardy  for  the  same 
offense,  furnishes  the  basis  for  constantly  recurring  per- 
versions of  justice  upon  which  foreign  jurists  look  with 
amazement.  The  accused  has  wide  privileges  of  chal- 
lenge in  the  choice  of  a  jury  which  are  denied  the  prose- 
cution ;  he  cannot  be  made  to  take  the  stand  in  his  own 
defense  and  his  failure  to  do  so  cannot  be  used  against 
him ;  he  has  the  right  of  appeal  to  higher  courts  while  the 
state  has  none.  As  many  prosecuting  officers  have 
pointed  out,  the  criminal  law  in  America  is  a  game  in 
which  the  defendant  is  given  every  chance  to  escape,  fair 
and  unfair,  while  every  possible  obsta-cle  is  placed  in  the 
way  of  the  prosecution.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  situ- 
ation developed  that  under  present  conditions  it  would 
seem  to  be  the  community  that  stands  in  need  of  protec- 
tion rather  than  the  criminal.^  "  The  wonder  now  is 
not  that  so  many  guilty  men  escape,"  said  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Philadelphia  Bar,  "  but  that  under  our 
present  system  any  guilty  men  are  ever  convicted. 
Where  they  have  money  enough  to  employ  the  most  able 
counsel  and  to  take  advantage  of  every  delay  and  tech- 
nicality available,  they  practically  never  are  convicted."  ^ 
In  a  single  year  in  Oregon  —  to  use  an  illustration  that 
could  be  duplicated  everywhere  —  there  occurred  56 
homicides.     Forty-six  of   the   offenders   were   arrested. 

1 "  The  fact  is  that  our  administration  of  criminal  law  has  as 
nearly  reached  perfection  in  guarding  the  innocent  (and  guilty) 
from  conviction  as  is  possible  for  any  human  institution;  but  in 
securing  the  safety  and  order  of  the  community  by  the  conviction  of 
the  guilty,  it  is  woefully  inadequate."  Judge  Carl  Nott  in  Coddling 
the  Criminal,  /Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1911. 

2  Samuel  Scoville,  Jr.,  in  the  Evolution  of  Our  Criminal  Pro- 
cedure, Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 
Science,  March,  1914. 

31 


American  Police  Systems 

Of  these,  ten  committed  suicide  and  36  were  held  for 
trial.  Of  the  36,  only  three  were  convicted  at  all,  and 
of  these  only  one  for  murder  in  the  first  degree.*  In 
191 3  in  the  City  of  New  York  there  were  323  homicides, 
185  arrests  and  only  80  convictions.  Of  the  80  convic- 
tions, ten  received  death  sentences.  In  19 14  in  the  same 
city  there  were  292  homicides,  185  arrests  and  66  convic- 
tions. Of  the  66  convictions,  six  received  death  sen- 
tences.- In  191 7  in  New  York  there  were  236  homicides, 
280  arrests  and  67  convictions,  of  which  nine  received 
death  sentences.  In  19 18  in  the  same  city  there  were 
221  homicides,  256  arrests,  and  jy  convictions,  of  which 
six  received  death  sentences.^  In  Detroit  during  the  fiscal 
year  191 7  there  were  89  murders,  104  arrests,  and  four- 
teen convictions;  in  the  fiscal  year  19 18,  there  were  71 
murders,  147  arrests  and  22  convictions.*  The  annual 
homicide  calculations  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  which,  after 
careful  checking,  seem  to  be  as  accurate  as  any  criminal 
statistics  can  be  under  our  present  system,  indicate  the 
following  facts  regarding  culpable  homicide  in  the  United 
States : ^ 

1  Reports  of  the  American  Bar  Association,  1908,  p.  495. 

2  See  Report  of  a  Study  of  the  Homicide  Records,  Neiv  York  Po- 
lice Department,  1913-14,  prepared  by  the  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search, March,  1915. 

3  See  annual  Report,  New  York  Police  Department,  igi8. 

*  In  the  same  city  in  1917  there  were  843  robberies,  494  arrests 
and  115  convictions,  while  in  1918  there  were  688  robberies,  458  ar- 
rests, and  loi  convictions.  (See  Annual  Report  of  Detroit  Police, 
1918.) 

'These  figures  are  exclusive  of  infanticide,  justifiable  and  ex- 
cusable homicide,  and  all  vehicular  and  other  accident  cases.  I  use 
these  figures  because  from  all  facts  which  I  can  secure  they  seem 
to  represent  an  understatement  rather  than  an  overstatement.  They 
are  substantially  supported  by  the  annual  homicide  analyses  of  Mr. 
Frederick  L.  Hoffman,  published  in  the  Spectator  (sep,  for  example. 


The  American  Problem 

Total  number  of      Total  number  of 
Year  culpable  homicides      legal  executions 

1916   8,372  115 

1917  ••••     7.803  85 

1918  7,667  85 

In  England  the  situation  is  far  different.  Any  volume 
of  judicial  statistics  or  any  report  of  the  PoUce  Commis- 
sioner of  London  bears  out  the  contrast.  In  1904,  for 
example,  in  London  —  to  pick  up  a  random  report  — 
there  were  twenty  cases  of  premeditated  murder.  In  six 
the  perpetrators  committed  suicide;  one  man  was  sent 
immediately  to  an  asylum,  and  one  escaped  to  Italy.  Of 
the  twelv-e  persons  arrested  and  brought  to  trial,  one  was 
acquitted,  five  were  adjudged  insane  and  confined  in  an 
asylum,  and  six  were  sentenced  to  death.  In  19 17  in  the 
same  city,  there  were  19  premeditated  murders.  Three 
cases  remained  unsolved ;  five  perpetrators  committed  sui- 
cide, and  eleven  were  arrested.  Of  the  eleven  arrests, 
there  were  eight  convictions.  In  the  whole  of  England 
and  Wales  for  1916,  85  murders  were  committed  and  59 
people  arrested  in  connection  therewith  were  committed 
for  trial.  Fifty-three  trials  resulted  during  the  year. 
Twelve  of  the  accused  were  found  insane  on  arraignment 
and  were  confined;  sixteen  were  found  guilty  but  were 
adjudged  insane  and  confined;  ten  were  acquitted,  and 
fifteen  were  sentenced  to  death. ^ 

It  was  from  England  that  we  borrowed  the  foundations 

Vol.  XCV,  No.  26).  No  more  emphatic  commentary  could  be  made 
upon  the  lamentable  condition  of  criminal  statistics  in  the  United 
States  than  the  bare  statement  that  calculations  such  as  these  are 
not  based  upon  exact  information. 

1  Judicial  Statistics  for  England  and  Wales,   1916. 

33 


American  Police  Systems 

of  our  criminal  system.  The  special  position  of  the  ac- 
cused, the  assumption  of  innocence  until  guilt  is  proved, 
our  jury  system,  in  fact  our  whole  attitude  and  point  of 
view  in  regard  to  the  man  on  trial,  are  of  English  origin, 
and  were  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  be- 
fore they  were  carried  to  America.  It  is  an  inescapable 
conclusion,  however,  that  the  English  machine  works 
smoothly  and  effectively  while  ours  does  not.  A  para- 
sitic growth  of  technicality  and  intricacy  has  thwarted 
and  choked  our  whole  criminal  process. 

The  Delays  of  Justice. 

The  delays  of  the  courts  furnish  another  reason  for  the 
failure  of  our  administration  of  justice.  A  random  ex- 
amination of  almost  any  volume  of  appellate  court  de- 
cisions will  fully  substantiate  this  charge.  For  example, 
in  Illinois  one  Sam  Siracusa  was  tried  for  murder  in 
October,  191 3,  and  pleaded  guilty.  On  a  writ  of  error 
the  case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois 
where  judgment  was  affirmed  exactly  three  years  from 
the  date  of  conviction.  The  case  was  not  finally  disposed 
of  until  three  months  later  when  a  rehearing  was  denied.^ 
Dominick  Delfino  was  convicted  of  murder  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  October,  19 16.  One  year  and  three  months 
later  the  judgment  was  affirmed.^  In  New  York  Charles 
Sprague  was  convicted  of  murder  on  February  8,  19 12. 
Judgment  was  affirmed  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  four 
years  and  one  month  later.^  Oresto  Shilitano  in  the 
same  state  was  convicted  of  murder  on  March  6,  19 14. 

1  27s  111.  457.  3  217  N.  Y.  373. 

2259  Pa.  State  272. 

34 


The  American  Problem 

Judgment  was  affirmed  two  years  and  two  months  later'* 
Similarly,  Leo  Urban  was  found  guilty  in  New  York  of 
robbery  in  the  first  degree  on  December  14,  191 5.  Judg- 
ment was  affirmed  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  July  3,  1917.^ 
These  are  not  unusual  cases.  They  are  picked  at  random 
from  miscellaneous  law  reports. 

A  study  of  criminal  court  dockets  brings  similar  re- 
sults. For  example  —  to  cite  a  single  case  out  of  many 
at  hand  —  one  Ben  Kuzios  was  indicted  in  Chicago  on 
May  16,  1917,  for  assault  with  intent  to  rob.  He  was 
found  guilty  on  July  25,  1917,  a  motion  for  a  new  trial 
was  over-ruled,  and  he  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary. 
A  week  later  his  attorney  entered  another  motion  for  a 
new  trial  and  the  prisoner  was  released  on  bail.  The 
transcript  from  the  docket  tells  the  rest  of  the  story : 

Aug.  24,  1917  —  motion  for  new  trial  continued  to  Octo- 
ber term. 

Nov.  3,  1917  —  motion  for  new  trial  continued  to  Nov,  7, 
1917. 

Nov.  7,  1917  —  motion  for  new  trial  continued  to  Nov,  14, 
1917. 

Nov.  14,  1917  —  motion  for  new  trial  continued  to  Nov. 
28,  1917. 

Nov.  28,  1917  —  bail  forfeiture  and  capias  issued. 

Oct,  22,  1918  —  motion  for  new  trial  continued  to  NoV. 
12,  1918. 

Nov.  26,  1918  —  order  of  court,  cause  off  call. 

Jan.  29,  1919  —  order  of  court,  cause  set  for  Feb.  i,  1919. 

Feb.  I,  1919  —  motion  new  trial  granted.  Prisoner  re- 
leased on  $500.00  bail. 

1  218  N.  Y.  161.  236  N.  Y,  Crim.  70.     . 

35 


American  Police  Systems 

Feb.  i8,  1919  —  judgment  in  bond  forfeiture,  heretofore 

entered,  set  aside  by  order  of  county  commissioners; 

costs  paid. 
Sept.  22,  1919  —  on  motion  of  defendant,  cause  continued 

to  October  21,  19 19. 
Oct.  22,  1919  —  by  agreement  cause  continued  to  Oct.  30, 

1919. 
Nov.  6,  1919 —  former  verdict  of  guilty  set  aside. ^ 

Records  of  this  kind  are  not  exceptional.  They  are 
commonplace  occurrences  with  which  every  prosecuting 
attorney  is  familiar. 

Radically  different  is  the  situation  in  Great  Britain. 
Under  the  English  law  appeals  to  the  Court  of  Criminal 
Appeal  must  be  taken  within  ten  days  after  conviction. 
Ordinarily  the  court  renders  its  decision  in  from  seven- 
teen to  twenty-one  days,  although  in  murder  cases  in- 
volving the  death  penalty  this  period  is  often  shortened. 
An  appeal  never  postpones  execution  in  a  capital  case 
by  more  than  three  weeks.  Thus,  William  Wright  was 
convicted  of  murder  at  the  London  Assizes  on  Febru- 
ary 2,  1920;  his  appeal  was  filed  on  February  10,  was 
denied  on  February  23,  and  he  was  hanged  on  March 
10.  George  Lucas  was  convicted  of  murder  on  January 
15,  1920;  his  appeal  was  filed  on  January  17  and  was 
dismissed  on  February  2.  Andrew  Fraser  was  convicted 
of  murder  on  February  19,  1920;  his  appeal  was  filed  on 
February  27  and  was  denied  on  March  8." 

1  Records  of  the  clerk  of  the  Criminal  Court,  Docket  11,413.  This 
transcript  and  many  others  of  similar  nature  have  been  published  in 
the  bulletins  of  the  Chicago  Crime  Commission  during  1919  and  1920. 

^  The  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal,  which  was  established  in  1907, 
sits  in  London  with  jurisdiction  over  England  and  Wales.     (7  Kdw. 

36 


The  American  Problem 

In  this  fashion  it  would  be  possible  to  quote  case  after 
case  from  the  records  which  the  Registrar  of  the  Court  of 
Criminal  Appeal  kindly  placed  at  the  writer's  disposal. 
One  gets  the  impression  of  a  swiftly  moving,  silent  ma- 
chine—  the  embodiment  of  the  certainty  of  justice  in 
England. 

The  same  impression  is  gained  by  one  who  watches  the 
conduct  of  English  criminal  trials.  The  business  of 
choosing  a  jury  is  a  matter  of  minutes  only.^     The  judge 

7.  ch.  23).  It  is  composed  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England 
and  eight  judges  of  the  King's  Bench  Division  of  the  High  Court. 
The  following  table  shows  convictions  quashed  and  sentences  re- 
duced by  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal  from  its  inauguration  to 
date.    The  figures  for  1915  and  1916  are  not  available. 


Convictions 

Sentences 

Year 

Appellants 

quashed 

reduced 

1909 

627 

27 

39 

1910 

706 

39 

42 

191 1 

679 

25 

31 

1912 

664 

30 

17 

1913 

655 

31 

47 

1914 

554 

25 

35 

1917 

299 

i6 

16 

1918 

285 

10 

21 

1919 

355 

17 

17 

The  word  *'  appellants  "  includes  all  persons  who  have  appealed  either 
against  their  conviction  on  a  point  of  law  or  against  their  sentence 
as  of  right,  or  who  have  applied  to  the  court  for  leave  to  appeal 
against  conviction  or  against  sentence,  or  against  both  conviction  and 
sentence.  There  have  been  a  very  few  cases  where  the  sentence  has 
been  increased  by  order  of  the  Court  of  Criminal  Appeal,  although  in 
most  cases  where  an  unsuccessful  application  for  leave  to  appeal  is 
made  to  the  court,  the  time  from  the  signing  of  the  notice  of  appeal 
to  the  final  refusal  of  leave  to  appeal  does  not  count  as  part  of  the 
sentence  of  the  appellant,  and  so  his  term  of  imprisonment  is  auto- 
matically increased  to  that  extent. 

1  In  New  York  when  Thaw  was  tried,  and  in  Tennessee  when  the 
murderers  of  Senator  Carmack  were  at  the  bar,  weeks  elapsed  in 
choosing  a  jury.  In  the  selection  of  a  jury  to  try  Calhoun  in  San 
Francisco,  91  days  were  consumed.  To  obtain  a  jury  to  try  Cor- 
nelius Shea  in  Chicago,  9,425  jurymen  were  summoned,  of  whom 
4,821  were  examined,  the  cost  of  jury  fees  alone  being  more  than 
$13,000.     See  Storey,  loc.  cit.,  p.  210. 

37 


American  Police  Systems 

takes  an  astoni-shingly  prominent  part  in  the  proceedings 
in  a  manner  that  an  American  judge  would  scarcely  dare 
do,  examining  witnesses,  instructing  counsel  and  openly 
exerting  his  influence- to  guide  the  jury.  He  does  not 
hesitate  to  comment  upon  the  failure  of  a  defendant  to 
take  the  stand  in  his  own  behalf,  and  his  general  conduct 
of  the  case  is  such  that  in  almost  any  state  in  the  Union 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  reversal  by  an 
appellate  court  on  any  one  of  a  dozen  technical  points. 
The  unrestricted  flow  of  objections  to  questions  by  op- 
posing counsel  on  the  grounds  of  irrelevancy,  incompe- 
tency and  immateriality  which  forms  so  conspicuous  a 
part  of  an  American  trial,  is  surprisingly  absent.  The 
proceedings  are  direct,  simple  and  even  colloquial.  They 
would  be  intelligible  to  a  layman.  There  are  no  hypo- 
thetical questions,  no  haggling  over  the  admission  of  evi- 
dence. Counsel  on  both  sides  give  the  appearance  of 
striving  to  arrive  at  the  truth  by  the  quickest  and  most 
direct  route.  On  direct  examination  the  questions  of  the 
attorneys  are  often  "  leading  "  questions  and  are  put  with- 
out objection.  Thus  they  do  not  hesitate  to  ask  their 
witnesses  such  questions  as  this :  "  Did  you  look  through 
the  door  and  see  the  defendant  speaking  with  Williams, 
and  after  a  few  seconds  did  you  see  him  fire  a  shot? " 
In  an  American  trial  it  would  take  a  dozen  questions  and 
answers  to  elicit  this  information,  and  each  of  them  would 
likely  involve  objection  and  argument. 

Briefly,  our  criminal  procedure  not  only  -makes  delay 
possible  but  encourages  it.  Our  methods  are  formal, 
diffuse,  and  inflexible;  we  are  enmeshed  in  technicalities 
which  we  revere  as  the  attributes  of  justice,  confusing 

38 


The  American  Problem 

them  with  the  essentials  of  a  criminal  system.  We  do 
not  seem  to  realize  that  simplicity,  directness  and  a  mod- 
erate degree  of  speed  are  consistent  with  fair,  impartial 
trials. 

Faulty  Personnel. 

Another  contributing  factor  in  the  failure  of  our  ad- 
ministration of  justice  lies  in  the  poor  quality  of  some 
of  our  magistrates  and  prosecuting  officers.  On  no  point 
are  policemen  throughout  the  country  so  unanimous  as 
in  their  emphatically  expressed  opinion  that  they  are  not 
fairly  or  properly  supported  by  the  prosecuting  attorneys 
and  the  courts.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  charge 
is  not  without  considerable  substantiation.  From  Massa- 
chusetts comes  the  authenticated  story  of  the  county  at- 
torney who  on  the  last  day  of  his  term  quashed  200  cases 
without  consulting  the  complainant  officers.  From  the 
police  in  many  other  states  there  are  allegations,  often 
with  specifications,  of  prosecuting  attorneys  conniving  at 
the  acquittal  or  inadequate  punishment  of  criminals.  In- 
dictments remain  untried  and  accumulate  on  the  calendars 
of  the  courts,  often  dating  back  as  far  as  three  and  four 
years,  with  the  result  that  witnesses  leave  the  jurisdiction 
and  evidence  disappears.  The  abuse  and  misuse  of  the 
bail  system  are  notorious.^     Cases  are  often  postponed  to 

1  As  illustrative  of  the  abuse  of  the  bail  system,  the  Grand  Jury  of 
Cook  County,  111.,  in  May,  1919,  handed  down  a  presentment  in  part 
as  follows:  "One  of  the  most  aggravated  cases  we  have  handled  was 
the  case  of  three  notorious  criminals  who_  were  indicted  by  this 
grand  jury  for  robbery  and  hold-ups  committed  while  out  on  bail. 
We  fixed  the  bail  at  $25,000.00  in  each  case.  When  we  handed 
these  indictments  to  the  judge  we  also  requested  him  to  prevent 
any  reduction  in  the  amount  of  the  bail.  In  addition  to  the  above, 
we  asked  the  state  attorney's  office  to  fight  any  reduction  of  the  bail 

39 


American  Police  Systems 

wear  out  the  patience  of  the  police.  "  There  are  in- 
stances on  record,"  said  fonner  Police  Commissioner 
Woods  of  New  York,  "  where  a  case  has  been  postponed 
and  re-postponed  until  the  patrolman  has  been  obliged  to 
come  to  court  twenty-six  times  before  it  actually  was 
called  to  trial."  ^ 

Illustrations  of  this  laxity  and  neglect  are  legion.  For 
example,  on  February  lo,  191 1,  Thomas  Chap,  a  bar- 
tender in  Chicago,  shot  and  killed  a  seventeen  year  old 
boy.  Chap  admitted  the  shooting  and  justified  his  act 
by  accusing  his  victim  of  striking  matches  on  the  bar-top 
and  of  kicking  a  dog.  He  was  indicted  for  murder  on 
March  4,  191 1.  On  April  7,  191 1,  he  was  released  on 
$10,000  bail.  No  further  record  of  his  case  appears 
until  1916,  when  the- docket  shows  the  following: 

March  20,  1916  —  case  continued  to  April  17,  1916. 
April  17,  1916  —  continued  to  May  term. 
(Another  gap  in  the  record.) 
Jan.  23,  1918  —  continued  to  March  4,  1918. 
March  28,  1918  —  continued  to  April  22,  1918. 
April  22,  1918  —  continued  to  May  13,  1918. 
May  13,  1918  —  cause  off  call,  order  of  court. 
Sept.  23,  1919  —  on  motion  of  Staters  Attorney,  cause  re- 
instated. 
Sept.  23,  1919  —  capias  order  issued. 

of  these  notorious  criminals.  Two  members  of  the  state's  attorney's 
office  fought  this  reduction  to  the  limit.  Notwithstanding  our  rec- 
ommendations and  their  efforts,  within  a  day  or  two  we  learned  that 
the  amount  of  the  bond  had  been  reduced  from  $25,000.00  to 
$10,000.00  in  each  of  the  three  cases,  and  that  these  men  were  again 
at  large  in  the  community  and  able  to  continue  their  depredations 
on  the  public.  We  believe  that  bail  for  persons  having  a  record 
of  crime  should  be  made  extremely  difficult." 

1  In  a  public  address  delivered  in  1916.     Manuscript  unpublished. 

40 


The  American  Problem 

Nov.  12,  1919  —  on.  motion  of  State's  Attorney  continued 
to  Nov.  17,  1919. 

Nov.  13,  1919  —  by  agreement  bond  reduced  to  $7,500. 

Nov.  17,  1919  —  on  motion  of  State's  Attorney  set  for 
December  i,  19 19. 

Dec.  I,  1919  —  plea  of  not  guilty  entered,  jury  trial. 
Jury  sworn ;  testimony  heard  in  part. 

Dec.  2,  1919 —  further  testimony  heard ;  jury  returns  ver- 
dict of  "  not  guilty."  ^ 

In  some  jurisdictidns,  moreover,  it  is  not  unusual  for 
committing  magistrates  to  throw  cases  out  of  court  for 
frivolous  and  sometimes  capricious  reasons  —  because 
the  officer  is  late,  or  because  his  hand-writing  on  the  com- 
plaint is  poor,  or  because  his  coat  is  unbuttoned.  Often, 
too,  the  sentences  imposed  are  absurdly  inadequate.  Dan- 
gerous criminals  with  long  records  are  returned  to  civil 
life  after  undergoing  minimum  punishment.  Sometimes 
they  escape  punishment  altogether.  Occasionally  this  is 
the  work  of  politics;  -  more  often  it  is  due  to  haste  and 
carelessness  or  to  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  magis- 
trates to  realize  the  true  significance  of  the  struggle  of 
society  against  crime.  "  One  of  the  most  discouraging 
things  about  police  work,"  former  Commissioner 
O'Meara  of  Boston  told  me,  "  is  to  work  for  weeks  and 
months  getting  evidence  on  a  particular  case  only  to  have 

1  Grand  Jury  No.  137;  P.  G.  D.  No.  95,897;  Term  No.  2,459;  and 
General  No.  84.  This  and  other  similar  cases  taken  from  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Criminal  Court  Clerk  in  Chicago  are  published  in  the 
Bulletin  of  the  Chicago  Crime  Covimission  of  Dec.  20,  1919. 

2  Anyone  who  would  see  the  American  judicial  system  at  its  worst 
and  lowest  should  read  the  report  of  the  Congressional  investigation 
of  the  negro  riots  in  East  St.  Louis,  (,65th  Congress,  2nd  Session, 
Document  1,231,  July  5,   1918.) 

41 


American  Police  Systems 

the  court  let  the  defendant  off  with  a  $25  fine.  Then 
we  have  to  begin  our  work  all  over  again."  The  annual 
report  of  the  General  Superintendent  of  Police  of  Chicago 
for  1910  carries  a  paragraph  equally  significant: 

**  An  honest  effort  has  been  made  to  reduce  all  gam- 
bling to  a  minimum,  and  many  arrests  and  raids  have 
been  made,  and  the  best  results  have  been  obtained  that 
were  possible  under  existing  conditions.  The  average 
fine  for  gambling  was  $4.20."  ^ 

Moreover  the  decisions  of  the  courts  are  often  based 
on  ignorance.  In  New  York  in  191 5  a  man  well  known 
to  the  police  was  arrested  for  having  concealed  on  his 
person  a  burglar's  "  jimmy  "  and  a  flashlight.  He  was 
immediately  discharged  by  the  magistrate  on  the  ground 
that  intent  to  use  these  tools  was  not  established.  An- 
other suspicious  person,  arrested  with  skeleton  keys  in  his 
possession,  was  similarly  discharged.^  Cases  of  this  kind 
can  be  duplicated  in  other  cities.  In  191 1  in  New  York, 
a  judge  of  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  frequently  di- 
rected juries  to  acquit  defendants  because  of  the  alleged 
misconduct  of  the  prosecuting  attorney  or  of  witnesses. 
For  example,  in  one  such  case,  in  which  two  men  were 
on  trial  for  burglary,  the  district  attorney  wanted  to 
show  that  when  arrested  the  men  had  dropped  a  "  jimmy  " 
which  was  later  found  exactly  to  fit  the  marks  on  the 
door  of  the  premises  in  question.  The  following  col- 
loquy ensued  : 

^  P.  8.    The  italics  are  mine. 

2  Cases  of  Proctor  and  Rentz  in  the  Magistrate's  Court  in  Janu- 
ary, 1915. 

42 


The  American  Problem 

The  District  Attorney:  Q,  (To  Detective  Murray)  Did 
you  ever  take  this  jimmy  upstairs  into  the  building? 

The  Court:  How  is  that  material?  I  will  sustain  an 
objection. 

The  District  Attorney:  I  want  to  show  that  the  jimmy 
marks  fitted  into  the  door. 

The  Court :  In  view  of  the  statement  made  by  you  I  will 
direct  the  jury  to  render  a  verdict  of  not  guilty. 

The  District  Attorney:  I  stated  it  in  my  opening.  I 
could  n't  prove  it  in  any  other  way.  The  officer  went 
back  and  fitted  it. 

The  Court:  The  officer  did  not  go  back  in  time.  You 
have  no  right  to  repeat  that  now  so  I  sustain  the  objec- 
tion. Sit  down.  I  direct  a  verdict  of  acquittal  for  im- 
proper conduct  of  the  district  attorney  in  the  trial  of  the 
case.^ 

Comment  in  cases  such  as  these  is  superfluous.  They 
are  cited  only  because  they  illustrate  some  of  the  diffi- 
culties under  which  our  police  are  laboring  in  their  un- 
equal fight  with  crime. 

Attitude  of  the  Public. 

The  weak  sentimentality  of  the  community  in  relation 
to  crime  and  the  criminal  is  a  final  factor  in  the  failure  of 
our  administration  of  justice  which  cannot  be  overlooked. 
Offenders  go  unpunished  and  the  laws  are  used  as  a 
shield  for  crime  because  such  laxity  is  after  all  in  sub- 
stantial accord  with  public  opinion,  or  at  least  with  that 
element  of  public  opinion  which  follows  the  daily  news- 

1  People  vs.  Ristino,  p.  i8.  For  a  discussion  of  this  and  other 
cases,  see  report  dated  May  23,  1912,  submitted  to  the  Mayor  of  New 
York  by  the  present  writer  when  serving  as  Commissioner  of  Ac- 
counts of  New  York. 

43 


American  Police  Systems 

paper  stories  of  our  criminal  courts.  Our  hereditary 
sympathies  are  for  the  under-dog,  for  the  man  who  is 
down  and  out,  and  the  criminal  is  too  frequently  pictured 
as  being  only  the  victim  of  hard  luck  or  a  bad  environ- 
ment, fighting  for  his  life  or  freedom  against  the  power- 
fully organized,  impersonal  forces  of  the  commonwealth. 
Sometimes  this  sentiment  is  little  short  of  maudlin,  and 
the  man  whose  crime  has  been  picturesque  or  unusual  be- 
comes in  public  imagination,  if  not  a  hero,  at  least  a  very 
interesting  character,  in  the  discussion  of  whose  case  the 
rights  of  society  and  the  claims  of  justice  are  lost  sight  of. 
Sensational  publicity  whets  the  popular  interest;  the  sor- 
did details  of  the  crime  and  its  motive  are  blazoned  in 
hysterical  headlines.  The  attorneys  issue  or  inspire  state- 
ments in  the  press,  presenting  their  proofs  of  innocence 
or  innuendoes  of  guilt,  and  long  before  the  case  is  tried, 
public  sympathy  is  vociferously  arrayed  on  one  side  or 
the  other.  In  three  different  parts  of  the  country  I  was 
told  by  prosecuting  attorneys  that  it  was  impossible 
to  secure  the  conviction  of  a  woman  for  murder,  no  mat- 
ter how  conclusive  the  evidence.  "  It  is  not  considered 
a  fair  sporting  proposition,"  one  such  official  said. 
"  Every  important  case  in  which  a  conviction  is  obtained 
brings  me  a  flood  of  letters  urging  clemency,''  a  western 
judge  told  me.  And  he  added :  "  Often  the  letters  pre- 
cede the  conviction." 

This  false  perspective  —  this  irrational  public  attitude 
which  first  shrieks  for  the  punishment  of  the  perpetrator 
and  then  seeks  to  find  excuses  for  his  act  and  reasons  for 
his  pardon  —  has  done  much  to  vitiate  the  restraints  of 

44 


The  American  Problem 

the  law  and  weaken  its  administration.  "  The  evidence 
shows  that  Anton  Jindra's  treatment  of  her  was  most 
tantalizing,  annoying  and  brutal ;  and  because  of  this  we 
believe  the  said  Pauline  Plotka  should  be  given  the  benefit 
of  the  doubt,  and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that  she  be 
released  from  custody."  ^  This  verdict,  handed  down 
by  a  coroner's  jury  in  Chicago  in  the  case  of  the  murder 
of  a  man  by  his  sweetheart,  is  typical  of  the  atmosphere 
of  false  public  sentiment  in  which  criminal  justice  is  ad- 
ministered in  the  United  States.  In  Indianapolis  in  1919 
a  negro  shot  and  killed  another  following  a  quarrel  over 
a  girl.  Upon  apprehension  the  perpetrator  admitted  the 
act,  but  was  freed  by  the  Grand  Jury  presumably  upon 
the  ground  of  justification  in  shooting  a  trespassing  rival. 
Upon  release  from  custody  he  called  at  the  coroner's  office 
to  get  his  pistol  which  he  had  left  beside  the  body  of  his 
victim  and  which  had  been  held  as  evidence.^ 

These  are  not  isolated  instances.  While  more  preva- 
lent in  some  parts  of  the  country  than  in  others,  they  can 
be  duplicated  in  almost  every  jurisdiction.  They  are 
typical  of  the  maladjustment  of  our  attitude  toward  crime. 
"  We  have  three  classes  of  homicide,"  I  was  told  by  the 
chief  of  detectives  in  a  large  southern  city.  "  If  a  nigger 
kills  a  white  man,  that 's  murder.  If  a  white  man  kills 
a  nigger,  that's  justifiable  homicide.  If  a  nigger  kills 
another  nigger,  that 's  one  less  nigger."  While  of 
course  brutally  exaggerated,  the  statement  is  none  the  less 

1  New  York  Times,  February  28,  1918. 

2  Personally  communicated  by  the  coroner  of  Marion  County,  In- 
diana. The  investigator  happened  to  be  in  the  coroner's  ofiSce  at  the 
moment  when  the  negro  called  for  his  pistol. 

45 


American  Police  Systems 

too  nearly  a  correct  portrayal  of  the  actual  condition  of 
public  opinion  in  many  parts  of  the  country  to  be  alto- 
gether or  even  largely  discounted. 

Crime  is  an  offense  not  only  against  the  individual  vic- 
tim but  against  the  whole  structure  of  society.  Until 
public  opinion  adjusts  its  own  point  of  view  on  these 
matters  we  cannot  expect  our  courts  to  reflect  anything 
better. 

In  discussing  these  four  phases  of  the  administration 
of  justice  in  America  —  our  technical  criminal  procedure, 
the  long  delays  and  the  uncertainty  of  punishment,  the 
badly  chosen  personnel  on  the  bench  and  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  prosecuting  attorney,  and  finally  the  unhealthy 
state  of  public  opinion  toward  crime  and  the  criminal  — 
the  aim  has  been  to  emphasize  the  point,  too  often  over- 
looked, that  our  police  suffer  from  connection  with  a 
system  that  has  all  but  broken  down.  From  time  to 
time,  in  our  indignation  at  the  obvious  growth  of  crime, 
we  rise  up  and  cry  out  at  the  police.  Why  are  they  not 
at  their  business?  Why  do  they  not  succeed?  The  an- 
swer is  obvious.  The  task  before  us  is  far  greater  than 
the  regeneration  of  our  police.  It  is  the  regeneration  of 
our  whole  system  of  administering  justice  and  the  cre- 
ation of  a  sound  public  attitude  toward  crime. 

IV.      UNENFORCEABLE  LAWS 

A  final  disadvantage  under  which  American  police  de- 
partments are  laboring  is  to  be  found  in  the  presence  on 
our  statute  books  of  laws  which,  because  they  interfere 
with  customs  widely  practised  and  widely  regarded  as 

46 


The  American  Problem 

innocent,  are  fundamentally  unenforceable.  The  willing- 
ness with  which  we  undertake  to  regulate  by  law  the  per- 
sonal habits  of  private  citizens  is  a  source  of  perpetual 
astonishment  to  Europeans.  In  no  country  in  Europe, 
with  the  exception  of  Germany,  is  an  attempt  ever  made 
to^enforce  standards  of  conduct  which  do  not  meet  with 
general  public  approval,  or,  at  the  behest  of  what  may 
be  a  minority,  to  bring  a  particular  code  of  behavior 
within  the  scope  of  criminal  legislation.  With  us,  how- 
ever, every  year  adds  its  accretion  to  our  sumptuary  laws. 
It  suits  the  judgment  of  some  and  the  temper  of  others 
to  convert  into  crimes  practices  which  they  deem  mischie- 
vous or  unethical.  They  resort  to  law  to  supply  the  de- 
ficiencies of  other  agencies  of  social  control.  They  at- 
tempt to  govern  by  means  of  law  things  which  in  their 
nature  do  not  admit  of  objective  treatment  and  external 
coercion.  "  Nothing  is  more  attractive  to  the  benevolent 
vanity  of  men,"  said  James  Coolidge  Carter,  "  than  the 
notion  that  they  can  effect  great  improvement  in  society 
by  the  simple  process  of  forbidding  all  wrong  conduct, 
or  conduct  which  they  think  is  wrong,  by  law,  and  of 
enjoining  all  good  conduct  by  the  same  means."  ^ 

It  is  to  this  temptation  and  to  this  fallacy  that  our  legis- 
latures habitually  succumb.  The  views  of  particular 
groups  of  people  on  questions  of  private  conduct  are 
made  the  legal  requirements  of  the  State.  We  are  sur- 
rounded by  penal  laws  whose  only  purpose  is  to  enforce 

^  Law:  Its  Origin,  Growth  and  Function.  New  York,  1900,  p.  221. 
See,  too,  The  Limits  of  Effective  Legal  Action,  an  address  by  Roscoe 
Pound  before  the  Pennsylvania  Bar  Association,  June  27,  1916  (a 
pamphlet)  ;  and  The  End  of  Law  as  Developed  in  Legal  Rules  and 
Doctrines,  by  the  same  author,  in  27  Harvard  L.  Rev.  195. 

47 


American  Police  Systems 

by  threat  certain  standards  of  morality.  We  are  hedged 
about  by  arbitrary  regulations,  which,  while  they  may 
have  at  one  time  perhaps  satisfied  the  consciences  of  those 
responsible  for  them,  no  longer  represent  community  pub- 
lic opinion,  or  at  best  represent  only  a  portion  of  it. 
These  regulations  have  not  grown  as  we  have  grown  and 
they  do  not  ease  up  as  we  push  the  whole  social  weight 
against  them.  Indeed  this  presents  one  of  the  strange 
anomalies  in  American  life:  with  an  intolerance  for  au- 
thority and  an  emphasis  upon  individual  rights,  more  pro- 
nounced, perhaps,  than  in  any  other  nation,  we  are,  of  all 
people,  not  even  excepting  the  Germans,  pre-eminently 
addicted  to  the  habit  of  standardizing  by  law  the  lives 
and  morals  of  our  citizens.  Nowhere  in  the  world  is 
there  so  great  an  anxiety  to  place  the  moral  regulation 
of  social  affairs  in  the  hands  of  the  police,  and  nowhere 
are  the  police  so  incapable  of  carrying  out  such  regula- 
tion. Our  concern,  moreover,  is  for  externals,  for  re- 
sults that  are  formal  and  apparent  rather  than  essential. 
We  are  less  anxious  about  preventing  a  man  from  doing 
wrong  to  others  than  in  preventing  him  from  doing  what 
we  consider  harm  to  himself.  We  like  to  pass  laws  to 
compel  the  individual  to  do  as  we  think  he  ought  to  do 
for  his  own  good.  We  attack  symptoms  rather  than 
causes  and  in  doing  so  we  create  a  .species  of  moralistic 
despotism  which  overrides  the  private  conscience  and  de- 
stroys liberty  where  liberty  is  most  precious. 

From  this  condition  arises  one  of  the  most  embarrass- 
ing phases  of  the  whole  question  of  law  enforcement. 
Mayors,  administrations  and  police  forces  are  more  often 
and  more  successfully  attacked  from  this  point  than  from 

48 


The  American  Problem 

any  other,  and  the  consequences  are  corrupted  policemen 
and  shuffling  executives  who  give  the  best  excuse  they 
can  think  of  at  the  moment  for  failing  to  do  the  impossi- 
ble, but  are  able  to  add  nothing  to  the  situation  but  a 
sense  of  their  own  perplexity.  Of  all  the  cities  visited 
by  the  writer,  there  was  scarcely  one  that  did  not  bear 
evidence  of  demoralization  arising  from  attempts  to  en- 
force laws  which  instead  of  representing  the  will  of  the 
communit}^  represented  hardly  anybody's  will.  "  I  am 
always  between  two  fires,"  the  chief  of  police  in  New 
Orleans  told  me.  "  If  I  should  enforce  the  law  against 
selling  tobacco  on  Sunday,  I  would  be  run  out  of  office 
in  twenty-four  hours.  But  I  am  in  constant  danger  of 
being  run  out  of  office  because  I  don't  enforce  it."  At  the 
time  of  my  visit  to  New  Orleans  the  enforcement  of  this 
particular  law  was  in  a  state  of  compromise  by  which 
green  curtains  were  hung  to  conceal  the  tobacco  stands  on 
Sunday,  The  curtains  served  the  double  purpose  of  ad- 
vertising the  location  of  the  stands  and  of  protecting  the 
virtue  of  the  citizens  from  visions  of  evil ! 

It  is  this  sort  of  hypocrisy  that  one  encounters  every- 
where, and  the  number  of  such  statutes  is  legion,  most  of 
them  honored  in  the  breach  or  perhaps  in  some  compro- 
mise that  brings  the  law  and  its  administration  into  public 
contempt.  "  There  has  never  been  serious  attempt  to 
modify  our  strict  Sunday  laws,"  I  was  told  by  the  prose- 
cuting attorney  in  a  large  southern  city.  "  In  the  first 
place  it  is  n't  necessary  because  the  laws  are  n't  enforced, 
and  in  the  second  place  any  attempt  to  modify  them  would 
meet  with  determined  opposition  from  our  good  people." 
This  happy  philosophy  fails  to  take  account  of  the  spas- 

49 


American  Police  Systems 

modic  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  good  people  to  enforce 
the  laws.  One  constantly  comes  across  such  situations 
as  the  following  newspaper  item  portrays : 

'*  Aberdeen,  Miss.,  April  15.—  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  is 
seeking  to  have  all  soda  fountains  closed  on  Sunday  in 
the  future.  This  was  done  once  before  but  it  did  not 
last.  The  W.  C.  T.  U.  officials  say  they  are  going  to 
hold  this  time  and  that  they  intend  to  see  that  the  law 
is  carried  out  to  the  letter  and  that  every  violator  is 
prosecuted  to  full  extent."  * 

Most  chiefs  of  police  confess  frankly  that  in  these 
cases  they  do  not  act  except  upon  specific  complaint. 
"  And  then  we  have  to  act,"  said  one  chief,  "  but  of 
course  nothing  ever  comes  of  it  because  judges  and  juries 
will  not  convict."  Said  a  criminal  court  judge  in  Ken- 
tucky :  "  On  ample  evidence  furnished  by  a  Church  Fed- 
eration I  placed  several  cases  of  Sunday  violations  before 
the  Grand  Juries  of  March,  April,  May,  June,  Septem- 
ber, October  and  November,  191 5.  Not  a  single  indict- 
ment was  returned.  It  is  my  experience  that  prosecutors, 
judges  and  juries  will  not  convict  people  of  crime 
for  doing  things  that  are  the  community  habit  and  prac- 
tice." 2 

A  county  solicitor  from  Alabama  writes  me  as  follows : 
"  While  we  have  a  statute  making  it  unlawful  to  play  ten- 
nis and  golf  on  Sunday  there  is  no  effort  made  to  enforce 
it.  A  great  deal  of  effort  has  been  made  in  the  past  to 
convict  negroes  for  playing  cards  on  Sunday,  but  this  has 

1  Birmingham  Age-Herald,  April  16,  1915. 

2  Personally  communicated. 

50 


The  American  Problem 

been  due  to  the  fee  system,  and  has  been  looked  upon  with 
disfavor  by  both  courts  and  juries."  ^ 

Clearly  it  is  a  bungling  arrangement  which  leaves  a 
borderland  between  the  live  and  the  dead  law  to  be  ex- 
plored at  the  discretion  of  individual  officers.  Our  police 
departments  are  torn  apart  by  constant  controversies  as 
to  the  existence  and  location  of  this  shadowy  area.  Re- 
cently in  Baltimore,  the  police  suddenly  descended  in  a 
series  of  raids  to  arrest  all  violators  of  the  Sunday  law. 
One  hundred  and  thirteen  people  were  taken  into  custody 
in  one  day  and  223  summonses  were  served.  Those  ar- 
rested included  druggists,  drivers  of  ice-cream  trucks, 
barbers,  and  bakery-shop  keepers.  Two  men  were  ar- 
rested for  balancing  their  books  in  their  own  homes. 
Selling  a  child  a  stick  of  candy  constituted  a  heinous 
offense  and  the  buying  of  a  piece  of  chewing  gum  or  a 
loaf  of  bread  caused  the  arrest  of  the  store-keeper.  One 
man  was  arrested  for  painting  the  gate  in  his  back  yard. 
Policemen  did  not  hesitate  to  approach  a  man  who  hap- 
pened to  be  smoking  a  cigar  and  question  him  as  to  how 
he  came  in  its  possession.  If  satisfactory  answers  were 
not  forthcoming  the  man  was  arrested.  Efforts  were 
made  to  persuade  the  police  to  allow  a  few  men  to  con- 
tinue working  in  a  garage  on  the  ground  that  a  hundred 
motor  trucks  stored  there  would  freeze  if  not  attended 
to.  The  police,  however,  refused,  and  two  arrests  were 
made  of  men  who  attempted  to  preserve  their  property.^ 
"  This  satire  upon  religious  observance,"  said  the  Balti- 
more American,  "  bore  no  fruit  of  holiness,  but  on  the 

1  Letter  dated  May  8,  1915. 

2  See  Baltimore  newspapers  for  December  i,  191Q. 

51 


American  Police  Systems 

contrary  fermented  bitter  feeling  and  vindictiveness. 
The  public  was  strained  almost  to  the  verge  of  physical 
violence.  The  arrests  were  a  disgrace  to  the  city,  and 
even  the  policemen  who  under  orders  made  them,  and  the 
magistrates  who  held  the  preliminary  hearings,  shrank 
with  disgust  from  the  tasks  that  were  laid  upon  them."  * 

Equally  ludicrous  results  follow  everywhere  from  legis- 
lative incursions  into  the  sphere  of  morals.  In  Massa- 
chusetts where  golf-playing  on  Sunday  is  illegal,  a  cer- 
tain golf  course  lies  partly  in  one  township  and  partly  in 
another.  The  authorities  in  one  jurisdiction  enforce  the 
law;  the  authorities  in  the  other  do  not.  Consequently 
on  Sunday  the  members  are  limited  in  their  play  to  the 
holes  in  the  "  liberal  "  township.  In  Tennessee  the  law 
against  the  sale  of  cigarettes  is  enforced  in  Nashville  and 
disregarded  in  Memphis.  In  Alabama  the  law  against 
Sunday  golf  and  tennis  is  nowhere  enforced,  while  the 
law  against  Sunday  baseball  is  enforced  only  in  Birming- 
ham. In  New  Orleans  at  the  time  of  my  visit  a  police- 
man was  stationed  every  evening  in  each  of  fourteen 
cabarets  where  liquor  was  sold.  These  officers  were  on 
duty  from  8  p.  m.  to  4  a.  m.  except  on  Saturday  nights, 
when  they  were  withdrawn  at  midnight  for  the  reason, 
as  stated  to  me  by  the  commissioner,  that  their  presence 
in  the  cabarets  after  midnight  "  might  seem  to  counte- 
nance the  violation  of  the  Sunday  liquor  law  " ! 

Often  the  laws  are  such  as  to  defy  enforcement  even  if 
they  had  behind  them  a  substantial  body  of  public  opinion. 
Thus  there  are  laws  against  kissing,  laws  against  face 
powder  and  rouge,  laws  against  ear-rings,  laws  regulating 

1  December  i,  1919. 

52 


The  American  Problem 

the  length  of  women's  skirts,  laws  fixing  the  size  of  hat- 
pins. In  Massachusetts  one  may  not  play  cards  for 
stakes  even  with  friends  in  the  privacy  of  one's  home. 
In  Texas,  card-playing  on  trains  is  illegal.  One  would 
have  to  scan  the  ordinances  published  by  the  Police  Presi- 
dent of  Berlin  to  find  any  parallel  to  the  arbitrary  regu- 
lations in  regard  to  private  conduct  with  which  American 
citizens  are  surrounded.^ 

The  argument  of  those  who  hold  the  police  responsible 
for  our  lax  observance  of  these  sumptuary  laws  marches 
with  a  stately  tread.  "  The  police,"  they  say,  "  are  sworn 
to  enforce  all  laws.  It  is  not  for  them  to  use  discretion 
in  determining  what  laws  shall  be  enforced  and  what  shall 
not  be."  This  argument  fails  to  take  account  of  the 
practical  situation  in  which  the  police  find  themselves. 
It  is  estimated  that  there  are  on  the  average  something 
like  16,000  statutes,  federal,  state  and  local,  applicable  to 
a  given  city.^  To  enforce  all  of  them,  absolutely,  all  the 
time,  is  of  course  to  any  mind  but  that  of  the  theorist 

1  Statutes  such  as  these  are  frequently  enacted  apparently  on  the 
theory  that  the  function  of  law  is  to  register  the  protest  of  society 
against  wrong.  Dean  Roscoe  Pound  of  the  Harvard  Law  School, 
makes  the  following  comment  on  this  theory :  "  It  is  said  that 
Hunt,  the  agitator,  appeared  on  one  occasion  before  Lord  Ellen- 
borough  at  circuit,  apropos  of  nothing  upon  the  calendar,  to  make 
one  of  his  harangues.  After  the  Chief  Justice  had  explained  to 
him  that  he  was  not  in  a  tribunal  of  general  jurisdiction  to  inquire 
into  every  species  of  wrong  throughout  the  kingdom  but  only  in  a 
court  of  assize  and  jail  delivery  to  deliver  the  jail  of  that  particular 
county,  Hunt  exclaimed,  *  But,  my  Lord,  I  desire  to  protest.'  *  Oh, 
certainly,'  said  Lord  Ellenborough.  *  By  all  means.  Usher !  Take 
Mr.  Hunt  into  the  corridor  and  allow  him  to  protest  as  much  as 
he  pleases.'  Our  statute  books  are  full  of  protests  of  society  against 
wrong  which  are  as  efficacious  for  practical  purposes  as  the  decla- 
mations of  Mr.  Hunt  in  the  corridor  of  Lord  Ellenbo rough's  court." 
(Address  before  Pennsylvania  Bar  Association,  June  27,  1916.) 

2  See  Brand  Whitlock :  Enforcement  of  Laws  in  Cities,  Indian- 
apolis, 1910,  p.  79. 

53 


American  Police  Systems 

and  doctrinaire  utterly  impossible.  With  ten  times  the 
number  of  policemen  it  could  not  be  done.  Arthur 
Woods,  formerly  police  commissioner  in  New  York,  put 
the  case  as  follows :  "  Those  who  lightly  advise  that 
every  law  should  be  vigorously  enforced  cannot  have  in 
contemplation  what  such  a  policy  would  involve:  police 
spies  prowling  around  every  household  over  which  a 
scandal  hovers,  men  and  women  shadowed  by  detectives, 
many  respectable  people  accused  unjustly  by  officious 
functionaries,  immense  sums  of  money  spent  in  putting 
the  entire  community  under  police  surveillance.  All  this 
would  be  necessary."  ^  Whether  it  squares  with  our 
ideals  or  not,  the  police  are  forced  by  practical  circum- 
stances to  determine  where  they  shall  put  the  emphasis  in 
the  enforcement  of  the  law. 

Under  such  circumstances,  therefore,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  they  are  disinclined  to  enforce  statutes  which  lie 
in  the  region  where  public  opinion  is  either  uncertain  or 
frankly  antagonistic  in  its  attitude  toward  the  things 
sought  to  be  required  or  repressed.  Mr.  Brand  Whit- 
lock  defines  the  situation  with  admirable  clearness: 
"  When  the  act  which  violates  the  law  is  merely  malum 
prohibitum  and  would  not  be  wrong  in  itself,  when  large 
numbers  of  the  people,  or  a  majority  of  the  people  wish 
to  commit  that  act  or  have  no  objection  to  others  com- 
mitting it, —  such  an  act,  for  instance,  as  playing  ball, 
going  to  a  theatre,  trimming  a  window,  running  a  train, 
or  having  ice-cream  delivered  for  the  Sunday  dinner, — 
then  it  becomes  impossible  to  enforce  the  law  without  re- 

1  From  a  public  address  delivered  in  1916,  the  manuscript  of  which 
Iks  before  me. 

54 


The  American  Problem 

sorting  to  violence,  namely,  by  rushing  policemen  here 
and  there  in  patrol  wagons,  and  forcibly  carrying  away 
men  and  women  to  police  stations,  courts  and  prisons, 
and  when  they  are  out,  doing  the  same  thing  over  again. 
This  process,  when  attempted  on  a  large  scale,  is  called  a 
*  crusade,'  and  is  invariably  accompanied  by  disorder  and 
tumult,  sometimes  by  riot,  and  always  engenders  hatred 
and  bad  feeling.  Its  results  are  harmful  and  it  being 
found  to  be  impossible  to  sustain  the  high  pitch  of  excite- 
ment and  even  hysteria  which  are  necessary  to  conduct  a 
crusade  properly,  the  enthusiasm  of  crusading  officials 
soon  subsides,  other  duties  are  found  to  demand  atten- 
tion, and  so  the  crusade  dies  out,  is  abandoned,  and  things 
are  worse  than  before."  ^ 

Those  who  would  push  the  enforcement  of  their  ideas 
to  such  extremes  as  these  overlook  the  fact  so  succinctly 
stated  by  former  Mayor  Jones  of  Toledo,  that  law  in 
America  is  what  the  people  will  back  up.^  Its  life  is  its 
enforcement.  Victorious  upon  paper,  it  is  powerless  else- 
where. The  test  of  its  validity  is  the  strength  of  the 
social  reaction  which  supports  it.  "  The  true  liberty  of 
law,"  said  Elihu  Root,  **  is  to  be  found  in  its  development 
from  the  life  of  the  people.  The  enforcement  upon  the 
people  of  law  which  has  its  origin  only  in  the  mind  of  a 
law-maker,  has  the  essence  of  tyranny  and  its  imposition 
is  the  mandate  of  a  conqueror."  ^  Said  Emerson : 
*'  The  law  is  only  a  memorandum.     We  are  superstitious 

1  Whitlock,  loc.  cit..  p.  20,  quotation  slightly  abridged. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  55. 

"  From  a  speech  delivered  before  the  Harvard  Law  School  Asso- 
ciation of  New  York  City,  April  i,  1915,  the  stenosraphic  transcript 
of  which  is  before  me. 

55 


American  Police  Systems 

and  esteem  the  statute  somewhat;  so  much  Hfe  as  it  has 
in  the  character  of  living  men  is  its  force."  ^ 

One  final  adage  is  always  hurled  at  this  position. 
**  The  best  way  to  repeal  a  bad  law  is  to  enforce  it." 
This  statement  is  largely  fallacious.  It  is  true  only  when 
those  upon  whom  the  obnoxious  law  is  enforced  have  the 
power,  through  representatives  that  they  themselves  elect, 
to  repeal  it.  When  the  case  is  otherwise  it  is  not  true. 
For  years  it  has  been  the  practice  of  state  legislatures, 
largely  representative  of  rural  districts,  to  attempt  the 
regulation  by  law  of  the  customs,  diversions,  sports  and 
appetites  of  city  populations.  The  city  police  could  en- 
force these  statutes  to  the  continuous  discomfort  and  an- 
noyance of  all  the  inhabitants  without  effecting  a  repeal, 
because  most  city  populations  are  represented  in  their 
legislatures  by  minorities.  Only  too  often  have  these 
minorities  sought  in  vain  to  obtain  release  from  laws  that 
are  not  adapted  to  the  life  and  habits  of  the  city  and  that 
in  the  nature  of  things  cannot  be  adapted  to  them. 

Meanwhile  our  police  are  caught  in  an  embarrassing 
dilemma,  and  there  is  little  hope  of  a  sound  and  healthy 
basis  of  police  work  until  our  law-making  bodies  face  the 
fact  that  men  cannot  be  made  good  by  force.  The  at- 
tempt to  coerce  men  to  render  unto  Caesar  the  things 
that  are  God's  must  always  end  in  failure.  The  law  can- 
not take  the  place  of  the  home,  the  school,  the  church 
and  other  influences  by  which  moral  ends  are  achieved. 
It  cannot  be  made  to  assume  the  whole  burden  of  social 
control.  Permanent  advance  in  human  society  will  not 
be  brought  about  by  night-sticks  and  patrol  wagons,  but 

*  Essay  on  Politics. 

56 


The  American  Problem 

by  the  cultivation,  in  neighborliness  and  sympathy,  of  a 
pubhc  opinion  which  will  reflect  its  soundness  in  the  laws 
it  enacts  and  in  the  approval  it  gives  to  their  enforce- 
ment.* 

1  See  Newton  D.  Baker:  Lazv,  Police  and  Social  Problems,  Atlantic 
Monthly,  July,  191S;  Chap.  IX  of  Havelock  Ellis'  The  Task  of  Social 
Hygiene,  London,  1913;  Chap.  VIII  of  Fuld's  Police  Administration, 
New  York,  1910;  and  Chap.  VII  of  Woods*  Policeman  and  Public, 
Yale  University  Press,  1919. 


57 


J 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


APR  2  7 19^ 
8£CD  LD-UfJL 

Ju^m    NOV  2 1 
9^ 


INTERUBRARY  LOANS 


APR  6  m 

THREE  WEE1&  FW  DAT^  0£  RgCElP]; 


RRh) 


COt.lfB(. 


^\%U 


«      Form  I 


•56(079084)444 


Ti-M  LITERARY 

UNIVEKSiTY  OF  CALIFORiiU' 

LOS  ANGELES 


\      PAMPHLET   BINDER 

•  Syracuse,  N,   Y. 


^ 


Stockton,  Calif. 


1158 


00231 


2618 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A    001  045  963     4 


